


My Fairy King

by BohemianBeth



Series: My Fairy King [1]
Category: Bohemian Rhapsody (Movie 2018), Queen (Band)
Genre: Adventure & Romance, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Fairies, Fluff, M/M, Paul Prenter Being an Asshole
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-28
Updated: 2020-01-15
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:48:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 43,987
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21595648
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BohemianBeth/pseuds/BohemianBeth
Summary: Roger Taylor is the fairy Prince of Sunshine, gifted with great beauty and the spirit of adventure. However, when he gets into some serious trouble, it's up to three other fairies of Rhye: Brian May, Freddie Mercury, and John Deacon, to come to his rescue and save the day!
Relationships: Brian May/Roger Taylor, John Deacon/Freddie Mercury
Series: My Fairy King [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1716475
Comments: 63
Kudos: 44





	1. You Take my Breath Away

**Author's Note:**

> Me: Okay, I updated the Blind Maylor AU. Time to enjoy this time off from school and work on Four Magical M--
> 
> My Brain: Hi Beth! Remember me? I'm your brain. Wanna hear about my new soulmate AU idea? I won't stop bothering you unless you hear me out.
> 
> Me: Fine.
> 
> Brain: So it's a fantasy AU with Deacury and Maylor where the boys are--
> 
> Me: --Magical creatures, yes I know. I'm working on that one. It's called Four Magical Misfits. Now let me write please!
> 
> Brain: No! This one is different! Ask me how.
> 
> Me: *Sigh* How is this one different?
> 
> Brain: Well you see, the boys are these little magical fairies who live in the enchanted forest of Rhye and they can--
> 
> Me: You had me at little magical fairies. That's the cutest thing in the world and I'm all over it. Uwu It's like the Incredible Shrinking Deaky all over again, but now they're ALL tiny! 😍I'm in! Let's do this bishes!

_Brian's POV_

I lay back on a crisp autumn leaf, staring up at the vast sky, admiring my work. As a night fairy, I was assigned to one of the forest tasks that could take place anytime between dusk and dawn. Of course I was a simple commoner, so my job wasn't as important as the royals in the families of the Sunshines and the Darknesses, but I took my purpose very seriously. I was gifted with a spirit over nature and a proclivity for stars and space. I had been clearing the night sky and ensuring that the stars shine brightly over the enchanted forest of Rhye each and every night since I was a little boy. Still, the twinkling spheres in the sky never failed to take my breath away.

I shut my eyes feeling at peace in the grassy clearing beneath the sparkling sky I helped to preserve. My work was done until tomorrow night.

_'Love of my life, you've hurt me....'_

I fluttered open my eyes as the haunting melody carried through the breeze. Freddie's voice was always mesmerizing, even when it was cracking in between sounds of his soft sobs. I should be more concerned, but I'm afraid that Freddie was a bit of a drama queen. Tears were nothing new for him. Still, I ventured out, weaving in between the tall blades of grass until I reached the edge of the clearing. This was the final frontier for fairies. Beyond this meadow was Nevermore, a human realm that was slowly expanding and encroaching onto Rhye. We feared there would be nothing left of our enchanted forest soon, but that was an issue for another day. Instead I focused on finding Freddie. I followed the sound of that captivating voice.

My best friend, Freddie Bulsara, sat perched on a blade of grass overlooking the edge of Nevermore. It was suicide to travel any further than this. His back was to me, exposing the black wings of a fellow night fairy. Gifted with the power of song and love, Freddie had this unique ability to almost make time stop whenever he sang. When he opened his mouth, no one could look away. That beautiful voice was spellbinding like a siren.

_"...You will remember_  
_When this is blown over_  
_Everything's all by the way_  
_When I grow older_  
_I will be there at your side to remind you_  
_How I still..._

No!" Freddie stopped the song abruptly to speak, addressing an invisible man. "I don't still love you, darling. I never loved you. You're not my soulmate. Prince or not I'd rather die than marry you."

Ah. I could gather what was going on now. The date of Freddie's wedding was nearing closer and that was very problematic because he did not fancy his fiancé and that was putting it lightly. Not that I could blame him. Hate was a strong word, and it wasn't in a fairy's peaceful nature to hate, but if there was one person I harbored that feeling toward it was the Prince of Darkness, Freddie's groom to be.

"And if I die out there at the hands of a human, so be it. It'll be your fault. I'll go down the path of Nevermore. I'll do whatever it takes to get the hell away from you!" Freddie swore into the night.

"Freddie, no!" I shrieked as he prepared to jump from the grass out onto the paved road where humans walked and pummeled down in their horrifying machines of nightmares that did nothing but pollute and kill.

Maybe I was overreacting. Like I said, fairies were peaceful creatures by nature. I prayed for a future where we could coexist with the humans. Each day I tried to find forgiveness in my heart. It was difficult though when the smoke from an exhaust pipe of the humans' death trap poisoned my father. No amount of magic could save him from the toxins he had breathed in. They were responsible for my father's death.

Regardless, I was one of the few fairies who argued that communication could solve our problems, but I understood why contact was forbidden. Over the series of our existence, dealing with humans only led to trouble and catastrophe. Now we simply stayed hidden for our own safety. I often asked myself if the humans were made aware of what they were doing to us, would they change their ways? It was doubtful. We were just so minuscule compared to them. It was so easy for ignorant creatures like them to not take us seriously or disregard us completely. I was no taller than the average human thumb, and I was considered tall in our world. If I or any fairy were caught by a human, we'd be at their mercy. There was no doubt about it. They could squash us like bugs and not even think twice about it. Still, I wished for some way to get through to those giants to make them stop hurting the earth and its smaller inhabitants.

"Brian, darling?" Large doe-like dark eyes met mine. "What are you doing here? You shouldn't be this close to Nevermore. It's dangerous."

"You're running away to Nevermore!" I cried, flying up to the blade of grass to join Freddie. "Don't talk to me about safety when I'm about to lose you to the humans. You can't go out there Freddie. You're gonna get yourself killed."

"Oh I don't have a choice, dear. I can't marry the Prince of Darkness. My parents won't budge. It's rare that a prince would ever propose to a commoner like me especially since I'm not even his soulmate. This is a big deal for our family. They would disown me if I turned down the proposal of a member of one of the royal families. The only thing that can stop this wedding is if I find my real soulmate."

By law, soulmates were to be wed exactly one year following the day they met. All other factors were put aside to honor soulmates and their one year of love leading up to the union. If Freddie found his soulmate, he would be set free, but time was running out. I tried to look on the bright side.

"The Darknesses are a very important family just like the Sunshines. They bring about dusk each and every night. Without them, none of us night fairies would be able to serve our purposes in this world." I reasoned. "Don't you want to be a part of that grand tradition? You'll be crowned as a new Prince of Darkness if you marry into the family."

"They Darknesses are rich too and you know I love the luxuries of being pampered and spoiled like royalty, but that doesn't make this any better. How could this happen, Brimi? Why me? Out of all the people, why did it have to be me? I mean he could've chosen anyone, preferably someone of royal descent, but he settled for me!"

"You're gifted with the power of love. Most people fall for you. Intentional or not." I pointed out. My ties to nature kept me grounded, so when I looked at Freddie, his alluring magic didn't affect me. I saw a dear friend and nothing more. Although I had to admit he was very handsome with rich caramel skin and high cheekbones sharp enough to make you bleed, and dark black hair the same color as those beautiful exotic eyes.

"I wish I never sang for that bastard. If he never heard me sing, then he wouldn't have fallen for me." Freddie sighed.

"Well running away from your problems won't solve them." I told him. "Why don't you take your mind off things and actually get your work done. The crickets have been silent tonight I've noticed."

"How can I focus on my job of conducting the nightly cricket choir when I'm so forlorn?" Freddie exhaled. "Don't you understand, Bri, if I go through with this wedding, I will be absolutely miserable for the rest of my life! I know you agree with me. You can't stand Paul either."

It was true. The Prince of Darkness made my skin crawl and I loathed the way he looked at Freddie like he was a snack. It was disgusting, but there was nothing I could do. What power did I, Brian May, a lowly commoner, have against Paul Prenter, a Darkness prince?

"I have to run away and never come back here. It's my only chance. I'm better off with the humans than with that fruit fly. From now on I shall hereby be known as Freddie Mercury and Rhye is no longer my home!" Freddie declared dramatically. He stood atop the blade of grass, preparing to jump into Nevermore.

"Farrokh!" I used his real name to get his attention. No one called Freddie that besides his parents. "You are not going out there. I won't allow it. You're not leaving me."

"But I'm caught in a landslide." Freddie complained. "There's no escape from re--Hey is that the Sunshine prince?"

Ah, the Prince of Sunshine, one of the day fairy heirs to the Sunshine throne in charge of giving rise to the sun each and every morning. As a night fairy commoner, I had only seen him from afar, but he was gorgeous. He had cascading locks of golden hair, the brightest blue eyes, and a smile that could kill. It was so fitting that he was gifted with beauty and the spirit of adventure that gave way to a warm bubbly personality. How did I know all this, you may ask? Well everyone knows about the royals. It was common knowledge. I totally didn't spend my days fantasizing about what it would be like to be the soulmate of the Sunshine Prince. That would be ridiculous and obsessive. I had much better things to do with my time. Besides, most of the royals had soulmates of the same social status. It had been at least one hundred years since a royal had a commoner soulmate. That's why Freddie's engagement to Paul was so shocking and such an honor to the Bulsaras even though it brought Freddie so much dread.

I squinted out into the distance overlooking Nevermore and spotted a glimpse of a blonde haired beauty sprinting through the night with his silver wings of a day fairy flapping slightly to give him more speed. He was cradling a cumbersome crescent shaped object that was bright red. I wasn't sure what it was, but it certainly appeared heavy and was nearly half the size of the fairy's body. "I think that is the Prince of Sunshine. What is he doing in Nevermore?" Freddie wondered.

"I hope he's alright." I said. If any harm came to the pretty prince, I would grieve like I had over the loss of my father. Most people mourned the death of a royal. It was normal. Right?

"What a beauty! I wish he was my soulmate." Freddie sighed as we watched the prince run toward us.

As he got closer, his silver wings lit up, sparkling like the stars above. That signified he was nearing his soulmate and the two would be meeting for the very first time. "Oh my God! I was right!" Freddie gasped. I looked at Freddie's black wings, but they weren't glowing. "It's not you." I said trying to let him down gently.

"No!" Freddie didn't appear upset however, his smile only grew. "Brian, it's you!"

"What?" Was I dreaming? That couldn't be right. I turned trying to catch a glimpse of my wings to see if they were lit up.

"Darling, look! You've got your soulmate ring! It's really happening! Oh I'm so happy for you!" Freddie applauded.

A black ring with a silver sparkling moonstone had magically appeared on my left hand. If this was real, then on my wedding day in exactly a year from now, I'd move the soulmate ring to my right hand. I took off the ring, examining the inscription inside, allegedly the name of my beloved.

"Roger Meddows Taylor." That was the name of the Sunshine Prince. He was now standing directly in front of us with all his breathtaking beauty. The large red crescent was dropped and ants were beginning to nibble at it. Instead Roger was now holding his golden ring with a ruby. Ruby was my birthstone. Could that be a coincidence? Those beautiful blue eyes locked with my hazel eyes. My heart was racing. This couldn't be real.

"Hi." He spoke in the sweetest voice. It was a bit raspy, but also high. A unique combination that was music to my ears.

"Hi." I spoke back, daring to step forward.

"Hi!" Freddie blurted.

We ignored him and broke the barrier between us for an embrace, enveloping each other in our wings which stopped glowing with the contact.

"So I guess we're engaged." Roger said with the cutest shy smile making me melt. Why was he so perfect? How could he be mine? This was a mistake. Reality caught up to me. I was hugging a prince. I abruptly pulled away and bowed. "Your highness."

Much to my surprise, Roger also got down on his knees, joining me crouched on the ground. "Your curliness." He mocked with a laugh. "Please no formalities. Not with my soulmate. I want us to get along. I'm not Prince of Sunshine to you. I'm just plain little Roger. No special treatment. Understand?"

Little? Sure Roger was small even for fairy standards. But plain? Who would ever look at that angelic face and call him plain? I'd fight themif they ever did, that's for sure!

"I always imagined you'd be a night fairy." He remarked, looking me up and down and nodding in approval. "And I was hoping you'd be a commoner too. The other royals are so stuck up."

"Oh yes." Freddie interjected. "My fiancé the Prince of Darkness is an absolute dog with disease."

"I'm sorry who are you?" Roger asked. "Do we know him, Brian? You're Brian, right? My ring says Brian Harold May. Oh my god! Why is this so awkward? I'm sorry." He babbled a mile a minute and I already adored him.

"We should have started with this. Hi I'm Brian, but you can call me Bri or Brimi if you'd like. May I call you Roger? I just can't believe you're my soulmate! This is my best friend Freddie Bu **—** "

" **—** Mercury! Freddie Mercury at your service, your highnesses." Freddie bowed before us.

"Your highnesses?" I questioned.

"Well yes, Bri. Once we're married you'll have to join the royal family and you'll become a prince too." Roger said. "Trust me it's not as fun as it sounds. They never let me leave the royal tree unless I'm helping to raise the sun in the morning. That's the only time I'm ever allowed out. You know I see you in the crowd every morning during the sunrise ceremony at dawn. You stand out cause you're so tall and handsome. I would always wish that you'd come closer and say hello. I had no idea that if you came any closer our wings would light up cause we're soulmates. I hope you're happy with me because you'rewhat I've always **—** "

I took a chance with this dream. After all there would be no consequences. I'd simply wake up on my leaf bed like nothing had happened. So for once in my life I acted without thinking. I leaned down and kissed Roger. Much to my astonishment, the prince kissed back with a fiery passion. Perhaps it was in my mind, but the sound of Freddie's soft soothing voice only escalated the mood.

_"Ooh ooh ooh ooh_  
_Ooh ooh_  
_Ooh ooh ooh take it take it all away_  
_Ooh ooh ooh ooh - ooh take my breath away - ooh_  
_Ooh ooh ooh ooh_  
_Ooh you take my breath away"_

Normally I'd want a moment like this in private, but Freddie was very good at serenading. Maybe his powers were helping us fall in love faster?

"Freddie, can you sing for us at our wedding please?" Roger requested as we parted for air. "That was amazing!"

"Which part the kissing or the singing?" I asked.

"Both." Roger giggled.

"It would be my honor to sing at your wedding, my darlings. I am so happy for you two. This is such a lovely surprise. Brimi finally found somebody to love and he wasn't even looking. If there's anything I can do to help you celebrate your blossoming love, let me know."

"Maybe give us some alone time." Roger said.

I couldn't agree more, but I didn't have the guts to say it. "You understand, right, Fred? I'll see you tomorrow."

"Of course. Have fun. I hear soulmate sex is better than sex with any other person. Let me know how that goes." Freddie winked and flew away thankfully not in the direction of Nevermore.

I glanced back at that path nearly screaming when a gigantic vehicle like the one that had killed my father barreled across the way without warning. Roger watched in awe whispering something about it being the machine of a dream. I pulled him back far away so we wouldn't get hurt.

"Hi." Roger said again when we were alone in the meadow at last. "Hi." I responded giving my prince another sweet kiss.

The dazzling smile Roger gave when he looked up at me was blinding. He picked up the discarded red crescent off the floor, shooing away the ants. "The humans call this candy a jellybean. I believe it's cherry flavored. Would you like to try it?" Roger bit into the oversized treat. "Mmm! What a sugar rush! You don't know what you're missing out on, Brian!"

I was shocked. How in the world did Roger get his hands on a human candy? And why was he being so casual about it? It was too late to stop him from eating the jellybean so I only prayed it wasn't poisonous.

"Where did you get that?" I asked somewhat afraid to know the answer.

"The humans have a playground not too far from here. Human kids are clumsy as anything and always drop goodies for me to pick up." Roger laughed.

"You're joking?" I cried. How could my soulmate be this foolish! "Roger, that's so dangerous!"

"No it's not. The kids are much too slow to catch me. It's the even bigger ones you need to watch out for. Full grown humans are terrifying. Have you ever seen one up close before? They'll swat at you with their massive hands like you're a pest. Scary as anything! The kids, on the other hand—"

"—Could mistake you as a toy, or try to eat you, or worse! What the hell are you thinking going to Nevermore, Roger? You're lucky to be alive after those encounters!" I cried.

"The royal tree is so boring. I love sneaking out and going on my nightly adventures. It gives me such a high! The only other time I felt as alive was when I kissed you just now." Roger admitted.

I felt so flattered but still concerned nonetheless. "Listen, I'll gladly give you all the kisses in the world if you promise to stay safe."

"All the kisses in the world? Brian, you spoil me!"Roger beamed. I tried my best not to get lost in those bright blue eyes. I wanted nothing more than to give in and kiss him again right then and there.

"You need to promise me that you won't travel to Nevermore from now on and you'll stay away from humans. Please. This is very important, Roger. They say losing your soulmate is the worst agony a fairy can go through." And I could see why. I was already so attached to my prince. I couldn't imagine his presence completely removed. It was too much to bare.

"Very well. For you, Brimi. Now more kisses pretty please!"

***

"And that bright star right there is Polaris, the North Star..." I was cuddled with Roger on a leaf bed, pointing out all the stars and constellations to him. "If you ever get lost, just find the Polaris and follow it. It will guide you right here back to Rhye."

"Right back to this very leaf and into your arms?" Roger questioned, giving me a soft peck on the lips. My heart fluttered. I was so content I could cry. "Yes. Exactly where you belong, sweetheart."

"Bri?" He nuzzled his face against my chest. I breathed in the fresh lavender scent of his hair. "Hmm?"

"Thank you for talking to me like I have a brain. Most people treat me like a bubble head with looks and nothing else. I wanna be plain so I could finally be treated like a normal person. My parents think I'm this dainty little thing who needs to be protected and guarded in the royal tree at all times. I'm not that fragile."

"Roggie, your beauty is a gift. Don't wish it away. Most people would kill for looks like you." I said running my hand through his silky hair. "Besides I think the gift of beauty extends to more than just what's on the outside. There's great beauty in knowledge as well. Never doubt yourself even if others talk down to you or believe you have nothing in that pretty head of yours. Prove them wrong."

"You know my parents assigned me a royal tutor who is literally younger than me. He's still a baby even if he's gifted with powers of wisdom and light. It's embarrassing but I actually learned a lot from this bloke especially in math and engineering and he became my best friend." Roger sighed. "I kinda feel bad that he was put in charge of watching me at night since all the other guards failed. Since Deaky and I are such good friends, my parents reasoned that I'd feel guilty if I snuck out under his watch."

"Do you feel guilty?" I asked.

"How did you know I snuck out...Oh right. I'm here and not in the royal tree. Honestly, I think Deaks would be happy for me if he wasn't out searching for me and likely having a panic attack like he does every night when I leave. It's not every day you find your soulmate. I'm sure he'll understand that this one trip outside the royal tree was absolutely worthwhile."

"Poor Deaky. You running away must give him a sheer heart attack." I said. "It sure would give one to me."

"Well you have my word, no more adventures in Nevermore. Now that I've found you, I can be happy at home." Roger declared.


	2. Love of my Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Freddie finds somebody to love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Thanksgiving! My brain still won't shut up so let's be thankful for that! But I'm even more thankful for you my, dear readers!!!❤️ Here's the next chapter:

_Freddie's POV_

Brian was right as usual. Traveling to Nevermore was not a bright idea. Faking my own death was a much more reasonable approach. It worked for Romeo and Juliet, didn't it? Well if it ended in tragedy for Paul then I didn't mind in the slightest.

It was advised that fairies stay away from the larger creatures who roamed these woods at night unless you were gifted with a connection to nature like Brian. I knew it was risky dealing with these critters, but I trusted them with all my heart. They may be big and a bit intimidating, but they were my babies. So ensuring that I was alone, I crooned a high note that guaranteed to capture the attention of my feline companions. Sure enough, my cats were summoned. All ten of them surrounded me mewling softly.

Delilah's tail swooped down in front of me but I moved out of the way in time. "No, darling, I don't want to play jump rope with your tail again. Not tonight. I have more important things on my mind." I hopped up onto Delilah's paw using it as a platform to climb up onto her head where I perched myself directly between her ears. It would be easier to spread my wings and fly here rather than to ascend physically, but my climbing skills captivated the cats. From this vantage atop Delilah's head I was able to deliver my fairy feller's master stroke to all of my kitties.

"Listen, my lovies. I only have one more week until I'm forced to marry Paul." I only had to say the name to make the cats hiss in a frenzy. "I know, it's horrid, but I have a plan, and I need your help. I'm going to pretend to be dead. I know none of you would ever hurt me, but we need to make it seem that way in order for this to work.  
So here's the plan. Oscar, darling, I'll melt some rose petals into a paste and paint it on your face to make it look like my blood. Then Lily, dear, you can spit out some of my torn clothing. Next we'll—"

"HELP!"

The plea coming from the treetop in the distance distracted me. At first I tried to ignore it as I was busy scheming, but I didn't have the heart. "SOMEBODY PLEASE! HELP ME!"

"Excuse me, darlings, I have to go be a hero. We'll continue this conversation later." With that, I jumped down from Delilah's head and zoomed toward the tree where the cries were coming from. "Hang in there, dear!" I shouted as the desperate calls grew louder.

A fairy was lying atop a branch. Another branch from up above appeared to have fallen down and crushed his wings. With his wings lodged beneath that branch trapping him, he had to be in pain. I was so concerned with his wellbeing that I almost failed to take into account how absolutely adorable he looked. He had milky white skin (a perfect contrast to my latte colored skin) with the sweetest grey green eyes and long flowing brown hair that seemed to glint almost auburn in the moonlight. I made it my mission to save this poor boy who had to be protected at all costs because he was so damn cute.

"It's okay, darling." I assured him. The fairy stopped screaming for help when I approached. Instead he went dead silent, his eyed widening. "Y-Your wings!" What a soft, kind voice he had when he wasn't yelling for aid. The lovely tone of the voice distracted me from what he was trying to say.

"Shh. I'm here. Let me take care of you." I planted a reaffirming kiss on his soft cheek to help him stay calm. The branch atop his wings looked difficult to lift on my own but I knew I had to do it. So with a deep breath I mustered all of my strength and remove the heavy obstruction from the fairy's wings, successfully freeing him.

Now that his wings were no longer covered by the protruding branch, I could see that they were the beautiful silver wings of a day fairy. They were also glowing brightly. Suddenly I understood why the boy had gone quiet and what he was trying to tell me about my own wings. I titled my head trying to catch a glimpse of that marvelous glow. I couldn't believe it!

I did it! I found my soulmate! I no longer needed to fake my death or flee to Nevermore. I saved this perfect fairy who would no doubt become the love of my life, but he probably didn't realize that he too was my savior. Now that dang fruit fly could be out of my life forever! Best of all I found somebody to love!!

"I'm engaged!" I squealed looking down at my new ring. It was black with a magnificent diamond in the center. "It's you!" I looked down at the sweetheart as he gently massaged his glowing wings. "You are the love of my life! Let me help you with that, dear." I reached over and ran my hands up and down his tense wings. "They must be sore from that accident. Are you in any pain, my love?"

Wordlessly he shook his head. Poor thing looked so frightened. He had obviously been through a lot. I didn't want to overwhelm him.

I took off my new ring and read the name inside. "John Richard Deacon."

"Born on August 19th, 1951." He stammered.

I gasped. How could he be so precious? It wasn't possible. "John." I purred happily pulling him close.

"Deaky." He whispered.

"Pardon?"

"M-My uh friends and everyone call me Deaky, not John."

I was in love and ready to scream it from the treetops, but I didn't want to scare my shy bean away before I really got a chance to get to know him.

"I-I'm sorry. Um h-how do you pronounce your name?" He asked looking at his own ring. It was golden with a deep blue sapphire. That was my birthstone!

"Oh don't go by whatever's written on that ring. My real name is Freddie Mercury. That's what I go by." I smirked. "And I was born on September 5th, 1946."

"C-Can you just say your birth name once so I know it. I'm sorry. I want to know everything about my savior."

"Farrokh Bulsara, but only my father calls me that. I'm Freddie Mercury. That's the only name I'll answer to 'cause I chose it myself. Don't you think it's strange that you can't even decide on your own name?" I found myself rambling. "I mean there's so many things we can't control as fairies. What gifts we're born with. Whether or not we're a day fairy or a night fairy. The tasks we're assigned. If we're born a commoner or into one of the two royal households. It feels nice having some autonomy and reclaiming my name as my own." 

"Y-You can't decide on your soulmate." Deaky murmured. "S-sorry about that."

"Sweetheart, why are you sorry? I couldn't be more pleased. Look at you! You're the cutest fairy in all of Rhye, and now you're all mine. I promise to cherish you and protect you at all costs, my darling." 

"Y-You're beautiful...A-And....I'm..."

"You're beautiful too." I told him. "I'm so proud to call you mine, my dearest Deaky." I kissed the top of his head giggling when his face became the same red shade of a beet tomato. Deaky had me wrapped around his little finger, I was his slave. I'd do anything for him.

"Come on. Let's get you down from here so you're safe on the ground again. Follow me." I hopped down from the branch and unfurled my black wings preparing to take off into the night. I expected Deaky to spread his wings and fly away with me, but he didn't. Those exquisite silver wings remained rigid. "What's the matter, love?"

"I-I think I still need to rest my wings before I can fly again. I-It really hurt having that branch fall on them. Don't worry about me, Freddie. I'll climb down." 

"No! You will do no such thing!" I scolded. "Don't move a muscle. I'll cradle you down like a baby." I returned to the branch and scooped my soulmate up into my arms. The extra weight would make it impossible to fly. "No, this won't work either. I have another idea." 

"Freddie, I'm fine. My wings just need rest because they're sore. I can climb do--"

"AY-OH!" I belted as loudly as I could into the night like a howling wolf. The cats responded to my call, they came running and situated themselves directly below the tree. 

"Oh my God!" Deaky screamed clinging to me like a life preserver. I hated to see him so afraid, but I loved his embrace so much. 

"Don't worry. They would never hurt us. They're here to help us." I assured him. "Delilah, darling, please help us down from here." I purred waving my hands in the air to get the cat's attention. 

Trembling in my arms, Deaky whispered a prayer as Delilah ascended up the tree toward us. "Darling, it's alright." I shushed him. "She's very friendly albeit a bit feisty at times."

"I'm going to die." Deaky said shutting his eyes tightly as I hoisted him up onto Delilah's furry back. "It's alright, dear." I said again. "I've got you."

I held Deaky the entire way down. Halfway down the tree trunk, he opened his eyes becoming less tense. I grinned and gave Delilah a pet as she carried us down to safety. "This is the best way to travel. Whenever I'm tired, I call for my cats to give me a ride. Delilah is usually more than willing to oblige." Deaky reached down and stroked the cat's soft fur beneath us. "She's a beautiful creature really. I've never been this close to an animal this large before. They always tell us to stay away. Are you a nature fairy? Is that why you have such good control over her?" 

"No. I just share a special connection with my kitties. We understand each other. I have powers over song and love. My friend Brian is a nature fairy and adores animals, but even he advises that we steer clear just to be on the safe side. Of course he doesn't know about my relationship with the cats. No one does. Well now you do." I explained. 

"One of your gifts is love? Is that why I'm so smitten all of a sudden?" Deaky quickly looked away, embarrassed by what he had just admitted, but I pulled him closer. This was everything I could ever want and more. 

"Thank you, Delilah. You were brilliant, my darling." I expressed my gratitude as I helped my soulmate back down onto the forest floor. Delilah purred in response. Then she and the other cats dispersed into the night. I knew they'd return if I called for them. 

"Um thank you for saving me." Deaky looked down at his feet shyly. "S-Sorry this is all happening so fast!" 

"You're very welcome, my dear. Can I ask for one favor in return?" I smiled to myself planning this dreamy moment before Deaky even gave me the go ahead. 

"Sure. I owe you. What can I do?" Yes! Those were the words I needed to hear to proceed. I was so excited I could burst.

"Kiss me." I prompted. 

Deaky squealed. I wasn't sure if he was frightened or excited like me. I prayed for the latter. "I-I'm sorry?" 

"Kiss me." I said again. 

"Freddie!" Deaky gasped. "I-I don't think I can do that."

"Why not?" I pouted. "You said you owed me. You're my soulmate and the love of my life and all I'm asking for is one small kiss." 

"Y-You don't understand...N-No one's ever looked twice at me. I-I've never...I've never been kissed...o-or kissed someone before. And you're so charming and you know exactly what you're doing. What if I disappoint you?" 

"Nonsense, darling. I bet you just didn't notice people stealing glances at you or you shied away from them. And you could never ever disappoint me even if you're the worst kisser in the world which I doubt. Besides practice makes perfect. How do you know if you're good or bad at something if you've never given it a try." 

"Very well." Deaky took a deep breath. With his eyes shut, he leaned in quickly giving me a fast little peck on the lips. 

"Darling, that was cute, but I hardly count that as a kiss." I laughed. 

"I knew this would happen. You said you wouldn't be disappointed in me, but..."

I kissed him properly, showing him how it was done. I took the lead, initiating the kiss allowing us to go rather slow so Deaky could find his pace. "I'm not disappointed." I said, delighted by the look of wonder in his eyes as he pulled away out of breath. 

"T-That was...I--"

"It's alright, darling. I know. You don't have to thank me." I said. 

"C-Can we do that again?" Deaky whispered. "Please. Just one more time."

What an angel. "Of course, my love. We can do it more than just once more." I took him back into my arms and kissed him again and again over and over in a blissful rhythm. 

"Thank you, Freddie." Deaky said at last, now more confident despite his quivering voice. 

"I told you, darling. There's no need to thank me." I said. 

"Well I just never thought I'd have my moment in the sun. Don't get me wrong, I love Roger, he's my best friend, but whenever I'm with him, everyone always overlooks me. All they ever see is the Sunshine Prince, a symbol of beauty and perfection. They never notice me standing next to him."

"I notice you." I told him. "You're striking. And I promise to spend the rest of our days together making you feel appreciated." 

"I don't know what I did to deserve you." Deaky sighed. "I can't even do my job right and keep an eye on R--Oh no! I forgot all about Roger! Shoot! I have to find him." 

"Slow down, darling. Looking after the Sunshine Prince is no doubt a handful, but you deserve a few moments for yourself to just breathe. After all, you were injured on the job. I'm sure your superiors will take that into account. How did that accident with the branch happen by the way if you don't mind me asking?"

"Roger escaped again and I didn't know where he had run off to, so I flew up to the tree so I could try to look down and spot him. But this bird decided to land itself right on top of the highest branch above my head, and it snapped under the bird's weight and the next thing you know my dashing soulmate came to my rescue." He explained. 

"Oh that blasted bird! Say the word and I will have my cats make lunch out of it." I threatened. 

"Freddie no! It wasn't the bird's fault." Deaky protested. 

"I'm only joking, darling. Come. I think I know where Roger is. Let's go find him." I took Deaky's hand and guided him back to the clearing where I had left the other two lovebirds.

Sure enough, Brian and Roger were cuddled on a leaf together, staring up at the starry sky, unaware of the world around them. Now I too could have a claim in that happiness accompanying the discovery of the love of my life. 

"Roger!" Deaky called disrupting the tender moment.

The blonde turned around, peeking his head over Brian's shoulder. "Oh hi, John! Fancy seeing you here." He grinned mischievously. "Looks like you found me."

"This isn't funny, Roger! We need to get you back to the royal tree before anyone realizes that you're gone."

"You worry too much. Nothing happened. Actually scratch that--something fantastical happened! I found my soulmate!" 

"You too?" Deaky gasped. "I mean...You're acting very irresponsibly...Oh forget it! I'm so happy for you, Roggie!"

"I'm happy for you two, Deaks!" Roger shouted. 

"Darlings!" I reached a tremendous conclusion. "We all met our soulmates on the same day. Our weddings are set for exactly one year from today. That means we can have a double wedding! Brian and I can be each other's best men and the same goes for Deaky and Roger." 

"That sounds good as long as I get to do that thing where I stomp on the glass!" Roger giggled. 

"Roger, that's a Jewish tradition, silly." Brian pointed out. 

"I know, but smashing things is a Roger Taylor tradition!" He made a gesture with his hands as if he were drumming an invisible set of drums. 

"Ooh! I get to sing at both weddings!" I declared. "I can't wait to serenade you, Deaky!"

"I can't wait to _be_ serenaded." He said taking a step back into my arms. I took this as a cue for more kisses...

"Oh no! Look at the sky. It's getting lighter. It'll be dawn soon. I completely lost track of time. I have to get back to the royal tree before the sunrise ceremony." Roger cried. 

"Exactly." Deaky exclaimed, unlatching himself from me. I frowned, but allowed him to walk away toward Roger. 

The prince took Brian's hand. "Brimi, come with me. I have to introduce you to my family." 

"I can get Roger back home safely." Brian said. "Freddie, why don't you take Deaky to meet your family and clear up the prior arrangements you had set."

"Prior arrangements?" I inquired. 

"The f-i-a-n-c-e." Brian spelled. 

"Finance?" Roger questioned. 

"I'm your fiancé, Freddie. What's he talking about?" Deaky asked nervously. 

"You are my fiancé." I confirmed, giving him a soft peck on the lips reminiscent of our first "kiss". "I just need to take out the trash, but I promise I'll take care of it, darling. You've got nothing to worry about."

***

The sky was getting lighter by the second as Deaky and I arrived to the humble tree home belonging to the Bulsaras. What a relief that I'd be staying here another year and not moving into the Prince of Darkness's royal tree next week. Unless of course Deaky invited me to move in with him before our wedding date. I would be more than accepting of that offer. 

I groaned when the fruit fly himself opened the wooden door of the tree bark. Where were Mama and Papa? "Freddiekins! There you are! I was so worried about you, my sweet pea!" Paul was being overly fake in his tenderness, so I knew we weren't alone. I dodged his puckering lips.

"Farrokh!" Papa rushed to the door. "Where have you been? The cricket choir wasn't singing tonight and you were nowhere to be found. The Prince of Darkness was searching high and low for you." 

"I bet he was." I said scornfully glaring at Paul. Mama ran to come give me a hug. "We thought something bad had happened to you, Freddie! Thankfully the prince was here to console us." 

Kashmira looked up from the feather recliner she was laying across. "Hi Freddie. I knew you were fine. They all overreacted. Who's that?" She pointed to cutiepie lingering in the doorway. 

"A home intruder!" Paul declared about to slam the door in my beloved's face. "No, Paul!" I shrieked grabbing his arm before he could make a move. 

The prince flinched, lashing out in a brief display of anger. "How dare you touch me without perm-" He quickly composed himself placing the mask of civility back on, "--I mean, Freddie, dear, what are you doing? This fairy is clearly trying to break into your home. I must protect you!" I was no fool. If we were alone, Paul would have struck me, but I didn't care. I was breaking free from his lies. He was so self satisfied. I no longer needed him.

Deaky still stood in the doorway shyly, posing no threat whatsoever. I loved that sweetheart so much. "Darling, it's alright. Come on in. You're always welcomed here." I ushered him inside much to Paul's dismay. "Everyone, I have a big announcement to make!" I put my arm around my soulmate further enraging Paul. 

"Freddie?" Kashmira was the first to figure it out. She spotted the ring and squealed jumping up to give me a hug followed by a reluctant Deaky. "Congratulations!" 

"What's going on?" Papa asked. 

"Papa, this is my soulmate, John Deacon." I presented my love to him. "We're engaged."

Mama applauded. "Oh Freddie, this is wonderful!" She embraced me and then went to overwhelm Deaky. "Hello, my name is Jer. I'm Freddie's Mama. Would you like to stay over for breakfast?" 

Papa examined the ring on my finger and smiled proudly. "It's true. My boy has found his soulmate. This must be honored. I wish you both happiness." 

"Mama, Kash! Stop hugging poor Deaky. You'll suffocate the darling! I'm the only one allowed to smother him in love." 

"I don't understand." Paul growled. 

"I'm afraid we're not longer in need of your services anymore, my dear. Bye-bye!" I tried to shove Paul out the door. 

"Farrokh!" Papa reprimanded. "That is no way to treat the prince. I am sorry, you highness. The engagement and union between our families is no longer destined. Farrokh is to be wed to his soulmate instead as that supersedes all. Your generosity was very much appreciated nonetheless. The Bulsaras owe you their deepest gratitude for considering our son worthy of your heart." 

"What heart?" Kash snickered as she fussed over cute Deaky. 

"Oh I understand." Paul said. He patted Deaky on the shoulder. "You're one lucky chap."

"Don't touch him!" I snarled. 

"Freddie, it's fine." Deaky said. "Thank you for your understanding, your highness."

"It's no problem at all. Tell me, you seem awfully familiar. Where have I seen you before? Perhaps you didn't leave much of an impression...Oh wait a moment. Yes, now I remember. You're the one who always follows around my counter prince of the day fairies, the Sunshine Prince." 

"Yes. Yes that's me." Deaky stammered. "I'm the royal tutor of the Sunshine Prince and I'm in charge of his wellbeing and looking after."

"Oh my!" Mama remarked. "You're practically a prince yourself." 

"That's a big responsibility. John could teach you many important lessons, Farrokh. You should pay him a lot of respect. Remember, good thoughts, good words, good deeds." Papa said. 

"Yes, Papa." I considered a sassy comeback, but now was probably not the time. I needed to get Paul out of here and away from my Deaky. I didn't trust him.

"That Sunshine Prince is always getting himself into trouble." Paul said. "I don't know how you handle it."

"I-I do what I can." Deaky sighed. 

"What exactly are you entitled to do if the prince were to give into his spirit of adventure and travel to Nevermore? Would you have to follow him there?" Paul inquired. 

"This isn't a fucking interview! Get out of our house!" I shouted. 

"Farrokh!" Papa scolded. "What has gotten into you? My deepest apologies, your highness." 

"Don't worry about it. Can you answer the question, John?"

"Um...well, hypothetically...I-I'd have to go after Roger and bring him back from Nevermore." Deaky squeaked. 

"That's not happening. You're not going anywhere near Nevermore." I said firmly. I'd protect my soulmate at all costs. 

"We'll just see about that." Paul laughed. 

"W-What?" Deaky cried. 

"Oh I um I mean I look forward to receiving a wedding invitation!" He laughed maniacally and showed himself out. That fruit fly was up to no good. 


	3. Happy at Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The couples celebrate their engagements with a masquerade ball.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Black Friday! Now the real plot is kicking in! Thanks for reading!!!!

**_6 months later..._ **

_Roger's POV_

Rhye could be fun. I had to keep that in mind. Since Brian and Freddie moved into the royal tree with me and John, we'd been celebrating nonstop. I had everything I could ever want: best friends, constant music and laughter, and the world's greatest fiancé. There was no need to ever leave the tree, right? I should be content. I was loved and everything I needed was right here for me. Why did I feel so restless then? My gift of an adventurous spirit was more like a curse. I could never be satisfied. The truth was that it had been six months in paradise that I wouldn't trade for the world, but it had also been six long, torturous months of falling into a routine. I hated routines. Where was the spontaneity? Was this really what I'd be doing for the rest of my life? Sure, the parties were fantastic. No one threw a party like Freddie Mercury, but after a while they all bled together into one dull blur of drinking and screaming. I needed that adrenaline rush of jumping out of the tree and waiting till that very last second to spread my little wings and fly away. I wanted that sense of peril that I could only reach moments before I hit the ground. I needed it, craved it like a drug addict.

As the date of the wedding crept closer, I couldn't help but still feel trapped within this limited lifestyle stuck in the royal tree. Same pattern each and every day: Wake up, sunrise ceremony, play music, eat lunch, lessons with Deaky, more music, dinner, Freddie's wild party, crash out and do it all over again. I made my promise to Brian. I'd stay happy at home. There was no need to ever leave or venture out for a different experience. This was all I needed. I had to keep my promise.

The only escape I'd get was at night in my dreams. I'd be far away in a fast car traveling at the speed of light. Where was I going? It didn't matter. The important thing was that I was zooming with the wind in my hair and my heart racing just as swiftly as the tires treading the road.

"Daydreaming about cars again?" Deaky asked.

"Hmm?" I snapped out of it and returned my attention to the textbook. Why did I still have to engage in these studies? Didn't I know enough already? "H-How'd you know I was thinking about cars?"

"Please, Rog. I've known you my entire life. You're not that hard to read." He laughed. "You know those thing cause nothing but pollution and destruction and you could never operate one because you're much too small. I don't understand why you're so obsessed."

"You know that thrill of flying as fast as you can through the air? I imagine it like that. I can't explain it...I just need to know what it's like to strap myself in and accelerate achieving a speed my wings could never reach." I fantasized.

"I hear you, Roger, but you have to remember that your place is here. This tree is your home." Deaky stressed. "Aren't you happy here with us?"

"Yeah. Of course I am." I told myself. "Now let's get back to this lecture. Forget I said anything."

"Okay, well today's lecture is a bit different as I was telling you because we're changing topics and covering astronomy. I know you're used to my teaching style, but I thought it would be more fitting if--"

A knock on the door interrupted Deaky. In walked Brian. "Am I late?" Well this was a nice surprise, and finally something different. "Brimi!" I squealed running to him as if I hadn't just seen him an hour ago at lunch. "My sunshine!" He laughed, twirling me in the air.

"Well, Roger, I trust that you'll give our guest lecturer Professor Bri the respect he deserves." Deaky said with a small smirk as I greeted the prof with kisses guaranteed to give me extra credit. "Now let's turn to page 39 and start...."

"Actually, Deaks, I heard Freddie lost his shoe. You're really good at finding things. Maybe you can give him some assistance. He's in the parlor." Brian said. "I can handle the lecture on my own."

"Well if Freddie needs me, then I shouldn't refuse. Just know that Roger can't participate in the sunrise ceremony unless he passes his annual general royal knowledge exam which is coming up at the end of the month." John explained. "We want to make sure he's very prepared."

"I've never failed a test to date." I bragged. "I'll be fine, Deaky. You go find Freddie."

I took a seat at the mushroom desk as Deaky left. I opened the textbook with no intention of reading it. I was going to give Brian my own lesson, one in the art of seduction. "So, Professor Bri, are you going to teach me about the cosmos?" I asked breathily fluttering my eyelashes.

"I intended to, but it seems like you have other plans." Brian replied.

"Correct answer." I grinned leaping up to shut the door.

"You know after I'm coronated, I'll have to take the annual exam as well. It would be better if we studied." Brian said. "But I doubt you care about any of the words in this textbook."

"You know me well." I laughed. "Let's finally have some fun!"

"Finally?" Brian echoed. "These past few months with you have been a blast...But I know you've been distant lately. Do you not feel the same? Are you not happy here?"

Ah, there went my opportunity for quick hot sex. We were probably going to spend this hour talking. I sighed. We were long overdue for this chat anyway. "You're the best thing that's ever happened to me, Bri. I love you so much. But I can't stop thinking about all the adventures I'm missing out on while I'm stuck in this bloody tree. No amount of crazy parties and rock and roll can quench my thirst for exploration. I'm as happy as I can be while I'm confined here, but this isn't the life for me. I'm not made to stay in one place for very long. It drives me mad."

"But Roger, you promised me. You put those days of risking your life in Nevermore behind you. If you want adventure, there's plenty of places in Rhye I can take you. You're not in the tree _all_ the time. We go on field trips and you make royal appearances outside every now and then. Anywhere you want to go just let me know and we'll drop everything and go."

"Like the ladybug petting zoo? That science museum you love so much? Or the blueberry farm? Please, those places aren't fun at all. They're lame. I need a thrill! Something exciting! I can't get that in Rhye."

"Well you have me and that's gonna have to be enough because Nevermore is not safe for fairies and you promised me you would stay away from the humans." Brian said.

"Don't you ever wish that things were different?" I sighed, imagining again what it would be like to drive in a car and explore unknown places I dare not even dream of.

"Different how? I like my life. I've found love and I'm at peace. Only I feel like we're not on the same page." Brian sighed.

This was so difficult because he was so perfect for me and I loved him. Oh why did Brian always have to be right? "You're right. We're not on the same page and we never will be. I'm gifted with the spirit of adventure, inner peace is against my very nature. I'm sorry, Brimi. I wish you could understand. Imagine if you were cut off from nature. Wouldn't you feel lost even if you had me by your side?"

"What do you want, Roger?" Brian practically pleaded. "I don't know what I can do to fix this."

"There's nothing you can do. That's what's so frustrating!" I cried. "Oh Brian, don't you ever dream of another life? One where you can walk freely and see what lies on the other side of the meadow in that vast world of Nevermore? Please tell me I'm not the only fairy in Rhye who wants more than this small world of ours."

"It's small, but it's a sanctuary for fairies." What else did I expect Brian to say? I was different. There was no denying it. Even my own soulmate couldn't comprehend the conflicting turmoil I was going through. "Roger, if you go out there, you could get hurt or killed. There are numerous ways to die. Getting trampled, eaten, caught in a jar and suffocating—the list is endless. Why do you want to put your life in jeopardy? You know how much you mean to me." I had heard this speech millions of times. ' _Pretty little fairies like you don't belong out there in the great big world. Why can't you be happy at home where you belong?'_ Well I was sick of hearing that.

"I wish I was human." I shouted defiantly.

"That's unfortunate." Brian stated coldly and I knew I had hurt him.

"I wish _we_ were human." I rephrased.

"And that's even worse. God Roger! Why would you want to be a killer operating a vehicle that slaughters fairies and pollutes the land? What the hell is wrong with you?" Brian shouted. "I've been patient with you hoping all this talk of cars was just a phase, but I was wrong. You need to get your priorities in check because your dreams are sick!"

I threw the textbook at Brian's face disappointed that he dodged out of the way of a direct hit. How dare he insult my dreams! Did he have any idea how hard it was for me to push aside my desires to please him?

"Shit! Roger, I didn't mean that. I'm sorry."

"Save it!" I scoffed. "You've done enough damage already." I sulked out of the room once again reminded that I was too small for the dreams my adventurous spirit yearned for.

***

I knocked on the door to Brian's quarters in the royal dressing room. It was time to face the music. I owed Brian an apology. For me cars would always be the machine of a dream, but for Brian they were a thing of nightmares. After giving it some thought I realized why he had lashed out at me earlier. A car had murdered his father. It didn't give Brian the right to insult my dreams, but at least now I got a sense of his mindset. If only I hadn't been so blinded earlier and remembered what had happened to his father.

"Roger, darling, no! You can't see Brian!" Freddie intercepted. "Get changed in your own dressing room. The guests will be arriving soon."

"No, Freddie, I need to speak to him. We got into a fight and I wanna resolve it now that I've had some time to cool down and think things over." I explained.

"You'll be fine." Freddie dismissed. "I'm not allowing your petty squabble to get in the way of tradition."

"Tradition? What tradition?"

"The theme of the engagement ball tonight is masquerade. We're not allowed to see each other until we arrive in the ballroom wearing our masked disguises. Then we have to see if we can recognize each other incognito. It's absolutely brilliant!" Freddie proclaimed.

"It's dumb. Brian has poodle hair. That's a dead giveaway. Just let me in there so I can see Brian or I swear by the seven seas I will break down the door!"

"You're so cute when you throw your little fits, darling." Freddie patted my head condescendingly.

"Fuck you, Freddie! Now step aside before I _make_ you!" I clenched my fists.

"Roger, I have power over love, so I know a thing or two. You and Brian will be fine. All couples hit a rough patch every once and a while. Going in there before you've leveled your temper won't do you any good. Take a breather, get dressed, and meet up with Brian at the party. It'll be a completely different environment, one where you can laugh and enjoy yourselves. Wait for a festive mood to overtake you before mending things." Freddie advised.

"Fine." I gave into his orders.

I dressed in a blue suit that matched my eyes and picked up a blank white mask that covered my whole face with the exception of my eyes and mouth. Looking in the mirror I was still recognizable so I slicked back my golden hair into a man bun. Slightly unfamiliar but my gift of beauty still permeated through the disguise. I could never go unnoticed. At least Brian saw past the beauty and didn't treat me so shallowly like most. He hoisted me to his level of intellect and he never spoke down to me. I appreciated that. Man, I really did screw up. Brian was trying his best to accommodate me here and all I did was make him feel unwanted. Hopefully we could make amends by the end of the night.

I made my way into the ballroom. Guests were already mingling, dancing, and drinking. All of them had masks on.

Freddie was the easiest to spot because he dressed so flamboyantly. He was wearing a skin tight red leotard that was cut into spaghetti strap strings on the side to expose his chest hair. An eerie pattern of eyeballs ran down his body. His face was hidden behind a matching red mask. He had fastened a curly black wig to his black wings to make it appear like a seamless single unit.

The lips beneath the mask were twisted into a frown. Others around him asked for a dance, but Freddie denied, no doubt on the lookout for Deaky.

Speaking of Deaky, he found me before I could notice him. He was wearing a simple black suit with a white mask like mine and his hair was pulled back into a ponytail beneath a classy top hat. "Roger! I hope your study session went well." He winked at me through the mask and handed me a glass of Chardonnay. "No one stays sober tonight, not even Brian. Fred's orders." 

"Where is Brian?" I asked. "I need to speak to him. It's kinda important." 

"I haven't seen him yet. People are still starting to arrive. I'm sure he'll be here soon. Do you think I should go see if Freddie can recognize me or should I use this as a trust test to see if he hits on anyone else while I'm away."

"Freddie only has eyes for you. He would never cheat. He's been denying dances and looking around for you. You should go see him." I prompted. "And he'd have to be drunk off his ass not to recognize you." 

"Vell, vat if I put on zis strange accent?" Deaky giggled. It was some sort of combination of German, French, and Russian, and it sounded completely fake. 

"Yeah he'll still recognize you." I said, gently pushing the day fairy in the direction of Freddie. Sure enough, the moment Freddie saw Deaky, he grabbed his soulmate by the hand, forcefully kissing him, their masks nearly falling off in the process. Then they proceeded to slow dance to the music, lost in their own little world. 

"Ugh! Barf!" Someone next to me groaned. 

"I know. They're sweet enough to give you cavities. They should get a room." I laughed in agreement taking a sip from my glass. Where the hell was Brian? 

"Care to dance?" The stranger next to me asked. 

I looked him over. He was a mysterious night fairy wearing all black with a matching black mask to cover his face. That wasn't ominous at all. Oh well. Black was slimming I suppose. "Sorry." I held up my ring. "This is my engagement ball...Well mine and Freddie and John's. I've gotta save that dance for my fiancé." 

"Roger! I'm so surprised at you. Don't you recognize me? It's me, Brian, your fiancé."

"Right." I laughed skeptically. Of course someone would pull this stunt to score a dance with the beautiful Sunshine Prince and expect me to be dumb enough to fall for it. "Brian, who's a good head taller than you, sounds nothing like you, and has a curly mop of hair atop his head." I took another swig of the Chardonnay. I was too sober to deal with everyone around me treating me like an idiot sex doll on top of everything else. "Fuck off!" 

"Fine, you caught me." He admitted. "I'm not Brian, but I think I can still interest you."

"What part of fuck off don't you understand?" I started to walk away, but the man grabbed my wing, pulling me back. Well now I was officially mad. I punched the bastard smack in the jaw hard enough to hear a crack. I hope I broke something! "You don't get to lay a hand on me. Got it?" 

He winced, but didn't back off. "Beauty and strength. You fascinate me, Sunshine. You're more than just a bubble head."

"No shit. Get the hell away from me or I'll call the royal guards on you." I threw my wine on his face to make sure he got the message. 

I anticipated a fight, but the man responded very calmly. He didn't even raise a fist. "You know what, you're right, Roger. You deserve better than this. You shouldn't be here at this stuffy gala hiding your pretty face behind a mask awaiting a dull dance with your soulmate. You should be out and about riding the wild wind, really living for once. This isn't the life for you." 

I hated this man, but he was right. I didn't belong here and I couldn't deny my heart what it really desired. "I don't know who the hell you think you are, but you need to leave, and you need to leave now." I declared. 

"Nevermore awaits." He teased ignoring my threats. Oh that temptation for an adventure was so tantalizing. I wanted to chase down that opportunity like a car driving down an open road...

"No!" I shouted firmly. "I promised Brian I wouldn't. It's too dangerous." 

"You say that, but you and I both know that it ain't dangerous...enough for you." Why did this asshole have to speak the truth? 

"If I were interested in whatever the hell you want from me, what exactly do you have in mind?" I asked. 

"You can sneak out right now and go to Nevermore for an adventure. I can tell people that I was so taken away by your great beauty that I accidentally spilled wine on your suit and you went to change. No one will even know you're gone. It's the perfect plan." He said. 

It had been six months since I stole that jellybean. I kept my promise to Brian this long, but perhaps my soulmate was asking for too much of me. I could just slip out, go back to the playground one last time, grab another souvenir, and be back before the party was over. Brian would never know. This man would cover for me. He already came up with the perfect alibi with the wine spill. Wait a minute... 

"What's in it for you?" I demanded. 

"Well isn't it obvious. I want to win your heart. I'm hoping this little favor will help me with that." He said his black gloved hand reaching for mine.

 _'No way in hell.'_ I thought. "If I pull off this heist and you stay true to your word, I'll think about it." Yeah, that was a lie, but who cares. Adventure awaited!

"Have fun, my little sunshine! Do something crazy and daring for me!" The stranger encouraged as I ran off ready put my plan into action. 

I almost made it to the door without getting caught, but I bumped into someone and fell flat on my back. A familiar hand reached out to help me back up. Brian May showed up to this masquerade ball dressed as what can only be described as a cyborg. His outfit was black with flashy, metallic looking designs and a silver mask that covered his entire face. Thick cloudlike curls cascaded out from the top of the mask. 

"Rog." His voice was muffled by the mask but it was no doubt him and not an imposter. "Brimi." I acknowledged accepting his helping hand that pulled me to my feet.

"Listen. I want to apologize for earlier. I shouldn't have yelled at you like that. Can we just put all that behind us and move on?"

In his cyborg outfit, Brian looked like a real machine of a dream. The apology was appreciated, but something about it bothered me. "You're just sorry for yelling? I yell at the damn time. I don't care about that. It's _what_ you yelled at me. You criticized my dreams. You called them sick. My dreams are a part of me. They're what drive my spirit. I'm trying my very best to put all these fantasies aside for you, but my gift is not something I can control, and if you can't embrace it, then I'm not sure this can work." 

"Don't do this, Roger, not now. Let's just enjoy the party." Brian dismissed. "Why don't we talk about this over some wine? I'm sure we can find a happy medium where I don't have to worry about losing you but you can still be satisfied." 

Brian was right. We could find a practical approach. I looked forward to having that important conversation about both of our needs. It would be wonderful to talk to him about it with a clear head after returning from Nevermore. "That sounds good. Why don't you go get us drinks. I'll be here waiting." 

Brian agreed, not sensing that I'd be ditching him. I almost felt bad... _almost._ I prepared to disappear out the door, but Brian paused. "Love you, Roger."

Damn it! He was perfect. Why couldn't I be happy? I'd feel better after I went out and got my thrill fill. "I love you, too, babe." _'I want this to work so bad. I'm sorry I have to be like this but I can't help it.'_ I thought. 

As soon as Brian's back was turned, I took my chance and bolted out the door. Nevermore here I come!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No one:
> 
> Roger: 🎶 I want adventure in the great wide somewhere! I want it more than I can tell! And for once it might be grand to have someone understand. I want so much more than they've got planned...🎶


	4. Nevermore

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys go after Roger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's the dreaded finals week everyone! Ugh. I should be studying but I have a bit of a Queen fanfiction addiction. Anyone wanna stage an intervention? No? Good! Here's the next chapter:

_John's POV_

I could dance with Freddie all night. He was such a charmer I couldn't believe he was mine. It made me blush each and every time I looked into those warm brown eyes.He returned my loving gazes. Oh I could just melt. We held each other tightly dancing to the sound of violins. I barely noticed a taller fairy looming over us I was swept up in my own swooning heart. Freddie pulled away from me and I pouted.

"Brimi, darling, why are you standing so close to us like that? You're ruining our perfect moment."

Oh hey it was Brian. I easily recognized him despite the cool cyborg mask because his signature curls bounced down from the top of his head. "Shouldn't you be with Roger? He really wanted to talk to you."

"I don't know where Roger is. I went to get him a drink and then he completely disappeared. I can't find him anywhere. I was hoping you two knew where he was."

 _"_ That's so strange." I remarked looking over to where I had last seen Roger. "I just spoke to him."

"I'm sure he'll turn up. You mustn't fret, lovie. It's a party. Let's enjoy ourselves! If Roger misses out on the festivities than it's his own fault. Now, Brian, darling, if you'll excuse us we have a dance to continue. Deaky, my dear, where were we?" Freddie extended his hand.

I eagerly took it and returned to the dance. Only Freddie turned rigid as he caught a glimpse of something over my shoulder. He swore. "Freddie, what's wrong?" I turned around, seeing nothing out of the ordinary. The other guests were dancing and mingling as they should. One fairy stood off to the side by himself his black wings folded neatly behind his back. As an introvert I could relate. Before meeting my Freddie I was that aloof person at parties. Well I still felt shy and a bit awkward at times but Freddie was helping me grow out of it.

"I told the guards not to let that fucker crash our party!" Freddie hissed.

His sharp tone completely changed with me. "Stay here, darling. I'll take care of this. I don't want you to go anywhere near that night fairy in the black outfit. Understand?"

Only that lonely man seemed to be approaching as he saw us split and take a break in our dance. Freddie swore again. I had never seen him this livid. He stepped in front of my possessively. Who was this night fairy and why did Freddie feel so threatened by him?

"Ah, the Sunshine Prince's sworn protector, just the person I wanted to meet. Freddiebear, step aside, my dear, I'm afraid this matter doesn't involve you."

Oh. Well that explained a lot. Paul Prenter got under my skin to say the least. Freddie made it clear he never cared for his ex-fiancé and just left it at that. The Prince of Darkness irked me, but I was too polite to be rude to him, and it wasn't in my place to ever belittle a royal. Freddie never specified what exactly the prince had done to him claiming it would only upset me, so that just left me to ponder. Was he just a bothersome fruit fly or did he pose a serious threat? There was no telling considering how protective Freddie was. He once scolded an adorable and harmless ladybug for getting too close to me. _"That is my precious Deaky you're approaching. The land you're walking on in sacred because he's standing right here. So show some respect and don't creep up on my baby like that!"_ And yet he let me ride on his cat's back. Freddie was certainly an enigma.

Brian approached the masked Prince of Darkness. "Hey! I thought I saw you talking to Roger while I was getting a drink. Do you know where he went?"

"Yes, the Sunshine Prince and I had a conversation. I'm afraid he was very drunk and not thinking straight."

"Darling, none of us think straight. What the hell did you do to Roger? Did you drug his drink or something? Tell me now or I swear I'll have you banished to Nevermore!" Freddie didn't have that authority but he sounded very threatening nonetheless.

Paul clicked his tongue. "That is no way to talk to a prince, my dear Freddie. It's been so long since we've been together it seems that you've forgotten your place."

Now I lost my cool. It was rare for me to lash out. Maybe I had too much to drink. Whatever. "You don't decide Freddie's place. You two are no longer together. And amen to that because you are a sleaze." I shouted.

"And it seems like you've forgotten your place too. The Sunshine Prince is missing and it is your job to look after him. If anything happens to Roger, then it is your fault. I suggest you take your job more seriously and head out to Nevermore to go after him before he gets himself into trouble." 

"Nevermore?" Brian, Freddie, and I all cried in unison. 

"No, you're mistaken. Roger wouldn't go to Nevermore. He promised me that he'd never go back there because he loves me and he needs to keep himself alive." Brian said. 

"You were wrong to assume that those days are all gone now because when I look, I find no change. When Roger spoke to me, he told me how miserable you make him. He doesn't love you at all. You make him feel trapped and small. He wanted adventure and you refused to let him spread his little wings and fly away. I tried to stop him, I really did, but he had his heart set on leaving. It was foolish for you to ever believe you could woo the spirit of adventure, that gift cannot be tamed. Perhaps it's best that he's gone. Then again, my job isn't on the line like in John's case, so who am I to say. John will be held accountable for losing the Sunshine Prince, and that's more than just getting fired from his position. The punishment for bringing harm directly or indirectly to a royal is--"

"--Banishment to Nevermore." I whispered. It was bascially a death sentence. Oh God! How could I be so neglectful. I knew that this was bound to happen someday. Paul was right, you couldn't contain Roger's sunny spirit of adventure. 

"No!" Freddie wailed. "Deaky, darling, it's not your fault! How were we supposed to know that Roger would be stupid enough to run away?" 

"It's my job to know, Freddie." I cried. 

"No, I take credit too. We missed all the signs." Brian sighed. "I pushed him into this life. He didn't want to settle down. I should have realized that. Now I have to go after him and apologize and hopefully win back his heart."

I nodded. It would be safer journeying with someone else, preferably a taller fairy with ties to nature like Brian. I needed someone resourceful like that to help me while searching for Roger. "We need to go find him and bring him back here before he gets himself killed." 

"You should go now." Paul prompted. "Time is of the essence."

"We should wear camouflage so we blend in better with our surroundings and don't draw attention to ourselves." Freddie suggested. "And you thought it was ridiculous when I requested that the royal seamstresses sew us outfits in every single color available. I knew the camouflage would come in handy one day. I hope Roger had enough sense to change into his camouflage outfit before leaving us all behind." 

Freddie's definition of camouflage wasn't your typical green and brown. To him, it meant blending in with the colorful array of fluorescent Rhye flowers. I had explained this to him a while back, but he seemed to have a selective listening problem. I just let him keep the rainbow garment because he looked so good in it (although he looked good in everything), but now it was gonna be a problem. Besides, ideally just Brian and I would go after Roger. This wasn't a social event. We were traveling to Nevermore and may not return alive. More people meant more risk of getting caught. 

"Freddie, you should stay back." I said bluntly. "It's safer for you here."

"Yes. He's right, Freddiepoo. You should stay here and I'll take good care of you, sweetheart." Paul said, putting his arm around Freddie. 

You know what on second thought... "Never mind. The more the merrier. Let's change into inconspicuous outfits and go save Roger!" 

"Right answer, darling. I'm a true asset, and you won't regret this." Freddie winked at me and pushed the Prince of Darkness out of the way. "Paul, my dear, if I die in Nevermore, I leave you with my sincerest fuck you. Let's go, boys, Roger needs us!" 

"We're all to blame in Roger running away, but you also have blood on your hands, Your Highness." Brian said coldly to Paul as the three of us left the party.

***

We met on the edge of Nevermore. Brian and I were dressed in true camouflage. Freddie on the other hand wore an outrageous fluorescent vest with a design resembling a cross between exotic bird feathers and a stained glass window pattern. Beneath the vest were tight white pants with a bright red line running across them. Hot damn he looked amazing but now was not the time! 

"Sorry I'm late, my darlings. You won't believe the hell Paul put me through trying to convince me to stay back. So here's the plan I have in mind--"

"--We already have a plan, Freddie." Brian interrupted him. "Roger said something about a playground not too far from here. I say we travel until we find it and investigate. It's not much, but it's a start." 

"Who the hell put you in charge of this rescue mission, darling? First of all, we can't go anywhere until I summon Delilah. She's our official getaway cat and we'll be able to cover more ground with her rather than traveling by foot or wing." Freddie cleared his throat, but he didn't do his usual cat summoning chant (Ay-Oh). This was a specific one for Delilah. 

_"Delilah, you're the apple of my eyes_

_Meow, meow, meow,_

_Delilah - I love you, Delilah oh_

_Ooh you make me so very happy - you give me kisses_

_And I go out of my mind - ooh ooh_

_Meow, meow, meow, meow,_

_You're irresistible - I love you Delilah_

_Delilah - I love you, ha ha"_

"I've never seen an animal respond to a non-nature fairy like that." Brian marveled as the cat came prancing over to us, seemingly out of nowhere. 

"It's a talent, darling. I bet you're jealous that you can't do this with your badgers." Freddie reached up and pet Delilah. She rang her sticky pink tongue all over his body. I would have screamed, but Freddie just laughed. "Good girl, Delilah, my love. We need you to take us to Nevermore to find Roger. I know you won't let us down." He put his lips to a patch of her soft fur. Delilah purred. 

"So what do we do once we reach the playground?" I asked as Freddie helped me up onto Delilah's back. 

"I dunno. Why don't you ask Brimi? He's the one with the plan." Freddie retorted sassily. Brian sulked as he joined us atop our fluffy transportation. "I really don't know. I'm scared Roger won't want to come back if we do manage to find him out there. What if Paul's right?" 

"Don't let that fruit fly get in your head." Freddie scoffed. "Everything he says is a lie."

"Yeah, Bri. You mean the world to Roger. He loves you. You'll work it out. I know you will. The important thing is that we find him and make sure he's alright." I stressed. 

"Ready Freddie?" Freddie asked us before gently tapping Delilah to get her moving. "Delilah, away!" He prompted. 

As Delilah trotted away from the meadow and down the path of Nevermore, I took one final look at the forest I was leaving behind. I gulped. Most fairies never came back from this dangerous road. "Roger, I hope you know what we're willing to do for you." I sighed. 


	5. Just Gotta Get Out! Just Gotta Get Right Outta Here!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roger gets into some trouble...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two new chapters in one day? Well I'm definitely on a roll! Let's keep going! 
> 
> So from this point forward, the story is low key inspired by Toy Story and TinkerBell: The Great Fairy Rescue. Take that as you will. #Sorrynotsorry. Roger Taylor is TinkerBell and we all know it, bishes!

_Roger's POV_

Freedom! Sweet freedom! I couldn't get this feeling while stuck in the tree. The rush of the wind flowing through my hair as I daringly flew high above the ground toward a land unknown. There was nothing quite like it, and man did I miss it! 

Although something about it didn't seem as fulfilling as it used to be. I was itching to get out, but now that I was airborne and far from the forest, all I wanted to do was turn back around. This was fun and all, but I'd rather share this adventure with Brian than do it all on my own. I could practically hear him nagging me to stay hidden and get back to the tree ASAP. How the hell could I even miss his annoying side? Better question: How could I miss him when it hadn't even been that long? I didn't know how long I had been out here. Maybe a couple hours at most? It was no longer nighttime and hadn't been for a while. I was supposed to get back by the end of the night to return to the party, but I was sidetracking before reaching the playground and lost track of time.

I grinned to myself, as I flew above the roofs of cars driving by, hitching a ride back in the other direction toward the playground and back home. Any lower and the car would have hit me and I'd be dead, but that didn't matter. I was just so thrilled to be this close to a car. I descended slightly and laid back on the car roof, letting it carry me away at a speed that made my heart leap up into my throat. Yes! This was the life for me. If only I wasn't such an itty-bitty speck in the humans' world, then I could do more than just hitchhike. I could be in the drivers' seat. Oh what a fantasy!

The grass below was moving in a green blur, but I caught a glimpse of something fluffy and familiar that caught my eye. I stood up on shaky legs, nearly falling from the movement of the car, and jumped back down, narrowly missing another car hitting me. Now safely on the other side of the road, I could see what it was that captured my attention. It was a big brown poodle dog. "Brimi." I giggled to myself as his puffy hair really did resemble the dog. I really did miss him. Maybe I was wrong all along, and that pressure I was feeling to escape and explore was nothing more than wedding jitters. After all settling down was an adventure in and of itself. Imagine raising a bunch of little hellions just like me! Well maybe one or two of our kids would be more levelheaded like Brian. Look at me already planning a future. That was a sign I should go back. Right after the playground, I'd return. 

The human walking the poodle stepped over my head, her foot slamming down on the pavement creating a thunder. She pulled the poor poodle along on a rope. That wasn't nice at all. Why couldn't the poodle be free? Brian was right about the cruelty of humans. They enslaved the animals it seemed. 

Why was I here? It was stupid really. All I ever needed was back home. If there wasn't an adventure in Rhye, I could seek it out myself and create my own sense of spontaneity. Brian said he wanted us to find that happy medium and I really believed it could be achieved. After all, there was nothing out here for me. I couldn't really do much because I was too small. I squinted, making out the desert in the distant. That was not a part of the playground where a fairy would want to be. Children would stick their grubby little hands in the sand and dig with shovels that could smack your head and knock you out in a flash. 

It had been a while since I was last here. Curiously, I flew over to the fence, easily passing through the slits meant to keep people out. I perched myself atop a bench, and observed the human children at play, recklessly running around and screaming through the enormous obstacle course and swing sets. As usual, there were several bags lying beneath the bench, each one big enough to get lost inside. I never heeded them much attention, but now I realized that a blue one was wide open, like a taunting mouth. I jumped down and examined it, peering inside. What did humans keep in here? It was dark and seemed like an endless void. Most definitely not a wise idea to go spelunking...

Much to my surprise, the items inside were fairly boring only being out of the ordinary because of their size. I spotted books, pencils, and a cylindric container filled with water. Nothing too exciting. I was about to pull my head back out and go about my day, but then I saw the most spectacular thing in the world resting at the bottom of the tunnel like it was waiting just for me. "No way!" I squealed, stepping inside to get a closer look. This couldn't be real! I zigzagged through the maze of useless giant objects until I reached the article of my dreams. "No fucking way!" I exclaimed in confirmation. 

Yes, I was staring at a car! How was that possible I had no clue, but I didn't dare question it because it was everything I wanted. The perfect car for me! It was scaled down for a fairy. I couldn't believe it!

"Why can't we have these at home?" I nearly drooled over the automobile. I could imagine fairies operating these miniature versions of cars all throughout Rhye. It'd be amazing! I knew what I had to do. I'd drive this baby back home and show it off to everyone. In no time, we'd have a car industry. I just had to be the pioneer. That would solve all of my problems. If I could drive in Rhye and zoom around on adventures every day, I'd never have to leave. My quench for a thrill would be fulfilled. This was the answer! 

I continued to ogle at the car in pure astonishment. It was absolutely beautiful--a shiny black car with the design of an orange flame running down the side. This was no ordinary car. It was a race car! Oh boy! Even better! 

The door to the car opened without any issues. I thought for sure it would be locked and for once I was glad I was wrong. "Wow!" I exclaimed as I went inside and sat down. I expected it to be more comfortable, like the squishy consistency of the mushroom seats back home, only this chair was hard as a rock. Huh. Whatever. It was still amazing! I put my hands on the wheel. Now how did the humans make this thing move at such a tantalizingly fast pace? Was there a button or a key or something? I looked around the slightly disappointing black empty shell. It seemed more like a model of a car than a real one. Maybe this was too good to be true. 

Suddenly a hand appeared overhead. Oh shit! This was bad. I fumbled to open the door and get out of the car, but it was too late. The hand pulled the zipper across the opening of the bag, locking me in the darkness. 

"FUCK!" I screamed, banging my head against the wheel in frustration. I was going to die in here. I'd probably suffocate. 

Why didn't I just keep my promise to Brian? It was an afterthought now, but I hated myself for being such a risk taker. What the hell was wrong with me? This was all my fault. I had the perfect life, but now I've gone and thrown it all away. If only there was a way to go back in time and tell myself from a few hours ago that this wasn't worth it. I had everything I wanted. I could be happy. This was pointless! But you can't turn back the clock. Now I was going to die because of my stupid decision making skills. 

I'd never see Brian again! Oh God! What about Deaky? He'd worry himself sick. And Freddie, he was going to miss me so much. How the hell could I do this to them? It was so selfish of me to put them through losing a best friend and a lover. They say losing your soulmate is the worst kind of anguish a fairy can ever experience. I wanted to cry just thinking about it. No, I couldn't do that to Brian. I had to get out of here. I'd escape for him. I had to. The only other option was death. 

As I opened the car door, a sudden force pushed me backwards into my seat. I was moving, but it wasn't from the car. The person with the hand was probably carrying the bag away from the playground. I had no choice but to stay in the car as I was jostled and jumbled around in nauseating bumping motions. I prayed the car would protect me from getting crushed from the falling books. It acted as a barrier between me and the other objects in the bag getting tossed and tumbled around. God, I loved cars so much. Brian thought they were killers, but they saved lives too. I couldn't wait to tell him that a car had prevented me from certain doom. Oh wait. I might not make it out of here to tell him. I shook the morbid thought from my head and focused instead on simply breathing without vomiting. 

After what felt like hours, I was repositioned flat on the bottom of the bag and the world stopped moving. I was still dizzy though, and I was starting to have trouble breathing. Maybe I was running out of air. With a loud zip, the bag was opened again and light poured into the darkness. That same hand from before reached down and scooped up the car with me still in it. I shut my eyes and prepared to face my fate at the mercy of a human. 

"No, Noah, honey, I told you. You're not playing now." A woman's voice boomed overhead. "We're having dinner. Put your car down and come into the kitchen. I picked up McDonalds on the way home from work. You can get the toy from your Happy Meal if you sit quietly at the table and eat with us like a big boy with big boy manners. Same goes for you, Lily. C'mon. Let's eat." 

I opened my eyes in time to see the giant hand release me. The car dropped landing on a flat surface, above the ground. My stomach lurched with the impact, and I took a deep breath confirming that I was safe before taking in my new surroundings. 

There were the humans looming over me like skyscrapers of course. One was significantly larger than the other two, but they were all big enough to crush me without giving it another thought. Judging from the gigantic pillow at the top of this surface, I'd say the car was depositing atop the human version of a leaf bed. An incomplete puzzle was laying on the floor alongside discarded socks, shoes, and various articles of clothing. More cars were scattered all around like a glorious graveyard. I knew better than to be tempted by them, but still... No! I had to escape before these humans hurt me. What would they do if they caught me? I noticed a poor fish swimming around in a tank. That would probably become my fate--reduced to a pet in a cage. I heard horror stories of people keeping in fairies in jars until they died of starvation. I wouldn't put it past these monsters. The window appeared to be my only option. It was wide open. I could just fly out and I'd be a free man. 

"Why is that window open? It's freezing in here." The most colossal of the humans, the mother I assumed, stomped over to my exit. She twisted a large crank on the side of the window, making the glass close. Stupid bitch trapped me in here! Now what was I going to do? 

"Alright. Let's go eat. Who wants their McNuggets and fries?" 

"YAY!" The children applauded. I screamed a lot (that was an understatement), but even my vocal chords couldn't carry at that capacity. If I did make it out of here, hopefully my hearing would be intact. Then again, I tested my auditory limits with rock and roll every day, so I'd probably be fine. 

"I better get a new HotWheels for my collection." The boy said. 

"I want a Barbie." The girl said. 

Once the trio left the room, I stepped out of my car sanctuary. I flew up to the window and banged against it. I didn't want to attract the attention of the humans, but I figured it might work. Maybe I could break the glass. Unfortunately, I didn't even make a dent. I wasn't strong enough. I looked back at that crank that the mother had used to close the window. I jumped up and grabbed the edge, pulling downward with all my strength. It was no use. I'd have to find another way out. I peered out the window, putting my hand against the cold glass blocking me from the clear night sky. Polaris, the north star, was visible. 

"If you ever get lost, just find the Polaris and follow it. It will guide you right here back to Rhye." Brian's words rung in my head. 

"I'm coming, Brimi." I sighed. "I still love you. And I'll make it out of here and back into your arms somehow. I promise."


	6. Give Me Fried Chicken

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roger is mistaken for a Happy Meal toy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo-hoo! I finished my first 2 finals!!!! I think I did well, but we'll have to wait and see. My most difficult exam is tomorrow, but I feel prepared. While I contemplate my impending doom tomorrow on that exam, I'm taking my mind off things by writing some more! Enjoy!!!
> 
> TRIGGER WARNING: This chapter contains child abuse.

_Roger's POV_

I crept through the house as quietly as I could. The humans' voices carried so I knew where they were. That was the area I wanted to avoid. My wings were tired from traveling all day long but walking across these massive carpeted rooms took forever. Much to my dismay I couldn't figure out how to maneuver the toy cars. They were useless to me. So I trudged forward for what seemed like hours just to get out of this one room. Finally I made it out and into a huge hallway. Where was the door?

A delicious salty scent distracted me from my escape mission. When was the last time I ate something? My stomach responded with a growl. I couldn't survive very long if I had an empty belly. Of course following the trail of the aroma led me precisely to where I didn't want to be. I stood beneath a threshold that stretched upward to the heavens overlooking a kitchen with appliances made for giants. The humans were seated at the table. From this vantage point I could only see the legs of the table and the feet of the humans as they sat. Relying on my nose I knew there was food on the table. If I was lucky enough maybe one of the kids would drop a crumb for me. Hesitantly, I moved closer.

"So how was school today?" The mother shifted her feet as she spoke.

"I hate my new school. I still don't have any friends. At recess Billy threw his boogers in my hair and everyone laughed at me." The girl complained.

"Well maybe you deserve it, Booger Brain!" The boy teased.

"Noah! That is not nice! You apologize to your sister!" I recoiled when the mother scolded. I never imagined I'd be in a position where I thought someone else was too loud. Usually I was the loudest person in the room by far.

"She's not my sister." Noah retorted. "Why don't you just put her up for adoption already?"

"She's your sister whether you like it or not." The mother turned to her adoptive daughter. "Lily, sweetheart, you need to eat. It's McDonalds, your favorite."

Oh good! The girl was wasting her food and not eating it. Maybe I could sneak a nibble. I stealthily flew up to the table trying not to draw any attention to myself. The kids were eating out of bright red boxes marked with yellow arches and a smiley face. That annoying voice in the back of my head told me this was a bad idea. If I snuck into the girl's food box, I could be mistaken for her dinner . Oh but the smell was too tantalizing to pass up. I never listened to that stupid voice anyway and I turned out fine most of the time.

As I flew down toward the box of deliciousness, the mother screamed and I felt the impact on my ear drums. Yup definitely going deaf. I saw her hand come down to smash me, but I was much quicker. I dove down into the box and nestled myself behind a nugget where she would never find me. Beside the nugget was a creepy mutated horse. It was small enough to have me as its jokey which was strange as horses were typically the size of cars, but this horse had fluorescent pink skin and a matching pink mane with bulging eyes that never seemed to blink. What the hell? I ignored the horse as it seemed to be ignoring me and instead took in the glory of being surrounded by mouthwatering human food.

"Lily, don't eat that!" The mother shouted. "I saw a fly go into it! I hate bugs so much, especially flies. Flies are disgusting! They carry diseases. You could get very very sick." Man, and I thought Freddie was a drama queen. This bitch could give him a run for his money.

Not caring that I was mistaken for a fly I took a bite out of the chewy texture in front of me, getting fried crumblies all over my face in the process. Fairies were very low on the food chain. My diet was mostly fruit and seeds. I knew I was eating a processed animal but I didn't care. It was too yummy.

' _You're eating a chicken, Roger. It was once a living breathing creature with a home and a family.'_ I imagined Brian reprimanding me.

' _And learn some manners, darling. You look ridiculous! Use a napkin.'_ Freddie appeared in my hypothetical conversation as well.

 _'Leave him alone!'_ Hey it was Deaky coming to defend my honor in this made up situation. ' _Roger needs to eat to get his energy back up so he can escape.'_

 _'Yes. Roger, you need to come back home to us.'_ Imaginary Brian said. ' _I need you. I miss you._ _I lo_ —'

An obnoxious ringing interrupted fake Brian. He disappeared into nothing more than dust, Freddie and Deaky following in pursuit.

"Oh!" The mother exclaimed. "The life insurance agent is calling. I'm sorry, kids. This is very important. You can take your McDonalds toys and play in your rooms when you're done. This might take a while."

"I'm gonna finish my meal in my room. You don't have time to eat with me so I don't have time to eat with you." Lily responded sassily. The mother didn't seem to notice because she had already walked away to answer the call. The family drama was none of my concern of course. What mattered was the girl closing the box with me still inside! Oh no! Not this again! I was bumped and jostled. I clung to my nugget for dear life.

The box popped open and I attempted to hide myself beneath a towering fry. The girl's hand reached in pulling out the creepy horse.

"Oh Pinkie Pie. I wanted the Elsa Barbie, but that's alright. Here you can hang out with Twilight Sparkle. I got her in my last Happy Meal."

The hand reached in again grabbing a fistful of fries and I narrowly leapt out of the way. I looked up meeting huge brown eyes. Crap! She saw me. I was going to die. Down came the dooming hand again and this time I wasn't fast enough to scramble away in time. Fingers coiled around me tightly. This bitch was going to squeeze me to death if I didn't do something fast. "Two toys!" She giggled. "Are you a Tinker Bell Barbie?"

I responded by biting the flesh that dig into my body cutting of my circulation. I managed to leave teeth marks with my chomp but to her they were probably unnoticeable. The girl screamed and let me go. I fell back down into the box. Success!

The mother rushed into the room. "Lily, what's wrong? Please don't scream like that when I'm on the phone."

"Mommy, Mommy! There was a fairy in my Happy Meal and she bit me! It's a real live fairy! I think I scared her, but she bit me. Look, Mommy! Look, there's baby teeth marks."

"I don't have time for this. I need to talk to the insurance agent to secure our money. Otherwise I'll have to take a third job." The mother stormed out without even looking at the girl's finger to see my bite.

Was this the way human parents treated their children? No wonder they became so destructive when they grew up. Well maybe it was because I was royalty, but if I were ever bitten by something like an ant while playing as a child, all activities would cease until the injury no matter how small was taken care of by a healing fairy. Fairies looked out for one another and cared about each other. According to Freddie the Prince of Darkness was the exception to that rule. Perhaps humans were more like him than most other fairies.

I peered out of the box to get a better look at my surroundings. Lily's room was just as messy as her brother's. Toys (unfortunately no cars) and clothes were thrown everywhere along with art supplies that would make Freddie jealous. Although I wasn't sure how he'd manage with crayons on markers taller than him. Everything from the walls to the furniture was painted bright pink.

What struck me odd was that this girl had a house within her house. Let me rephrase that—She had a house that was the perfect size for fairies but worthless to humans. It was also painted in a pastel pink. When I flew down to the entrance of the fairy sized home to explore, I accidentally landed on a sheet of paper. I tried not to move, fearing that it would make a crinkling sound and catch the human's attention. She was flung on her bed sobbing, squeezing another toy to death. This one resembled a bear. How could humans make a grizzly appear soft and cuddly? Was this how they viewed the animal but that was far from reality.

Curiously I looked down at the drawing I was standing on. I assumed the girl with two pig tails was Lily as she was wearing her black hair that way now. The taller woman was probably her mother. The boy with the frowning face was Noah her brother most likely. However there was another person in the drawing. It was a man, and Lily had drawn him as a fairy with wings. Obviously not an accurate portrayal since he was even taller than the mother. Why would she add a fairy to her family?

"Oh Lily!" Noah barged into the room. I preferred his room because of the cars but I still hid underneath a purple sock so he wouldn't see me.

"Go away, Noah!" She sniffled.

"I got that lame Elsa doll you wanted instead of a cool car. I thought I'd give it you." I peeked out from beneath the sock to see him holding up a doll in a sparkly blue dress with long white gold hair.

"Really?" Lily looked up from her bed wiping the tears from her eyes.

With one simply twist, Noah snapped the doll's head off and laughed in his little sister's face. The beheaded figure was dropped to the floor. My jaw dropped. If he was capable of doing that to a doll so easily... I shuddered.

"NOO!" Lily bawled.

"Let it go!" Noah laughed.

Why were humans so sociopathic? Sure, I played pranks on my younger sister Clare, but they were innocent fun. For instance, I hid a lady bug in her purse to fly out and surprise her. Nothing sadistic that would ever make her cry like this. Making my precious baby sister, the Sunshine Princess, burst into tears was too heartbreaking to even imagine. I'd be a monster if I ever did something like that.

Noah grabbed a pair of pink scissors from the desk. They were probably safety scissors but to a little fairy they were anything but safe. This wasn't going to end well. I dared not to move from my hiding spot beneath the sock.

Noah picked up another doll off the floor. This one had long, golden hair down to its ankles. "I think Rapunzel needs a haircut."

"NO! Not Rapunzel! Please not Rapunzel! Her hair is magical. It glows when she sings!" Lily pleaded. "Please! No! NO!"

"Oh you're right." Noah put the doll down. Instead he took one of Lily's pigtails. That bastard! Ignoring her anguished cries, he snipped it. Holding the his sister down against her will, he cut the other pigtail as well. The hair cascaded onto the floor with the girl's tears leaving her with an uneven bob cut. Poor Lily. How dare that medieval jackass to that to his own sister? What the fuck was his problem?

The mother returned just as Noah left the room so all she saw was the dropped scissors and pile of hair on the floor. "Lily, what did you do to your hair?" She cried.

 _'Punish your masochist son, you stupid bitch, don't yell at her! She's the victim!'_ I thought. I refrained myself from screaming at her. Yelling at a human was not the brightest idea and one way to get myself killed.

"I-It wasn't me...I..."

"Sweetheart, I know things are hard now that Daddy's gone and I'm not around as much because I had to get another job, but it's difficult for all of us. If you continue to out act like this, you're only putting more stress on me." She sighed and picked up the hair. "I'll call the barber and have an appointment booked to even the cut, but that'll make it shorter I'm afraid."

"B-But I don't wanna look like a boy!" Lily sobbed. "Everyone at school already hates me. Why did we have to move?"

"Because things are different now and this is the way it has to be. If you didn't want short hair, you should have thought of that before you cut it."

"But I didn't cut it. It was--"

"--That's enough, Lily! Be a big girl. I have to call back the life insurance agent _again_ because this is the second time you've interrupted my conversation. This is very important. When Daddy got sick, we made sure to put aside money for us through this thing called life insurance. Do you understand?"

I bet this bitch killed her husband to get the money. No, I shook the thought from my head. Why would anyone do something that evil?

"I'm sorry, honey. I'm trying my best. I'm honoring Daddy's wishes to take care of you. Perhaps more therapy will stop you from acting out like this. But you have to put on a happy face soon because the social workers want to take you away since Daddy was the one with custody over you. If they see you're unhappy here they'll put you in a foster home and you don't want that." The mother said before leaving again with Lily on the floor bawling her eyes out.

I wasn't sure what to do. Was I even inclined to help? This family had done nothing but kidnap me and it was never a good idea to meddle with humans. I felt so bad for Lily though. Call it good fairy nature, but I knew what I had to do even if I would regret it later.

I tentatively flew up to Lily, plopping myself down on the ear of the the fluffy bear she was holding. _'Never show yourself to humans, never talk to humans, and never ever ever under any circumstance use magic in front of humans!'_ Those were the basic fundamental rules of Rhye that every fairy had ingrained in their heads. I always was a little rebel. Time for some rule breaking.

I never really embraced my gift of beauty because I wanted people to perceive me less shallowly, but there were some perks that came with it. _"Aaaaah!"_ I crooned, allowing Lily's hair to grow back into a beautiful, long wavy pattern. Not many people knew I had powers to give makeovers. I kept it to myself for the most part because it was a lame power to say the least. Occasionally I'd threaten to straighten Brian's hair if he got on my nerves. Freddie didn't know of course. If he did, he would make me his makeover slave (all day long). I never told Deaky because his powers over light made mine feel inferior. Too bad Deaky was too humble to show off what he could do as a light fairy. He almost never used his powers.

I flew far away before Lily could notice her new lustrous hair. The girl gasped grasping the strands in disbelief. Then she spotted me standing behind one of the pastel ponies. I winced automatically preparing for another grab scared, but Lily stayed put, her teary big brown eyes staring directly at me. "You used your fairy magic to make my hair grow back?" She asked surprisingly calm.

It was the first time a human spoke directly to me. Speaking back would earn me a banishment to Nevermore, but now I'm here and I already crossed that boundary of no return by exposing my magic and showing myself. Who knows? Maybe if I struck up a friendship with this child, she'd be able to help me get back home.

"It's okay, little fairy. There's no need to be afraid. I'm sorry if I scared you before. I didn't know you were real." She moved closer and crouched down in front of me and I tried my best not to cower. Lily seemed friendlier than the others but having a giant this close to me was unnerving.

"Thank you for growing my hair back." She said.

"Y-You're welcome."

Much to my surprise, Lily screamed and clambered backwards. I laughed and flew closer. How could such a large creature be scared of me?

"Y-You talk!" She gasped.

"Yeah." I stated. "Why wouldn't I talk?"

"B-Because Tinker Bell doesn't talk."

"What the fuck is a Tinker Bell?" That was the second time she brought that doll thing up. Shoot! I probably shouldn't curse in front of a child. Easy to forget Lily was a "little" girl.

"Tinker Bell is a fairy who lives in Pixie Hollow with her friends and sometimes she goes on adventures with Peter Pan and Wendy and the Lost Boys. Are you from Pixie Hollow?"

Ah so the humans had their own mythos about us. So far what I had discovered about them all seemed accurate. Loud, destructive, and heartless. Well Lily wasn't heartless, but that was an exception. "Look, I don't know what they've told you, but it's probably all wrong. You shouldn't believe in Peter Pan, Frankenstein, or Superman. That's all bulls--Make believe--That's all make believe. _Real_ fairies live in Rhye." Not cursing was harder than I thought.

"Rhye?" Lily questioned.

"Yeah. It's an enchanted forest where we all live in peace and harmony for the most part. We all have different jobs to sustain its magic. Our gifts determine the roles we play in the community. Either you're assigned to a day shift or a night shift depending on whether you're a day fairy or a night fairy." I explained.

"What do you do?" Lily asked.

"I'm a day fairy, heir to the Sunshine throne actually. Prince of Sunshine gifted with beauty and the spirit of adventure."

"Oooh!" Lily giggled. She stood up and curtseyed. "Your majesty. I didn't know you were a boy fairy though. I thought you were a fairy _princess_ because you're so pretty."

I folded my arms indignantly. I was sick of people mistaking me as a girl. It happened way too often. Lily just laughed. "When Tinker Bell gets mad, her face turns all red just like that." Then she paused and crouched back down again, lowering her huge face closer to mine. "Wait why are you mad? What did I do wrong?"

Ahh, I couldn't be mad at this inquisitive cutie. Wait what? No. She wasn't a cutie. I just needed her to help me escape. "You didn't do anything wrong." Best not to get my captor upset.

"I always do stuff wrong." She huffed slumping down atop her bed and grabbed the bear again. "That's why I don't have any friends at my new school. All the kids hate me."

"Yeah humans harbor hatred from what I hear." I said. I realized she couldn't hear me from down here, so I flew back up and landed on the bedpost.

Lily reached for the food box on the nightstand and stuffed a nugget in her mouth, devouring it in one bite. Eek! Those teeth looked sharp. I tried to stay calm, reminding myself that Lily wouldn't hurt me. "The only good thing about Mommy getting this second job is that she doesn't have time to cook for us so we get more McDonalds and fast food. Do you like McDonalds?"

"Um...I don't know." I said. "They uh don't have that in Rhye."

"I thought they had McDonalds everywhere! Wow! I was lied to. Here. You're probably hungry." She broke off a chunk of a nugget and a piece of a fry and set them down on her night stand. Humans were capable of sharing? Every lore I knew of them told me they were greedy and selfish. "Thank you." I said jumping down to the night stand to take my meal.

"You're cute." Lily cooed. "Can we be friends? I don't have any friends."

Anyone who gave me food was worthy of my friendship and if I could gain Lily's trust, she could help me survive and make it back home. "Sure." I took a bite of the fry and my tastebuds exploded. It was the perfect salty blend of crispy on the outside with soft potatoes on the inside. Why didn't we have fried food in Rhye?

"My name is Lily. What should I call you, your majesty?"

"Um actually it's your highness. You majesty would be for a king. Our current King of Rhye is a day fairy named Jim Beach, but my friend Freddie started the trend of calling him Miami. You can call me Roger."

"Roger." She smiled, sticking out her pinky finger for me to shake. Taking this as a sign of peace between species, I reached up and grasped it.

"So are there only fairy kings and princes or are there also fairy queens and princesses?" Lily asked. "There has to be fairy princesses."

"There are plenty of princesses, but we haven't had a queen in a while. King Beach has been in power for the last hundred years roughly. Before that we had a night fairy king with a gift over space. King Stardust. He retired and started a fairy space colony on Mars. And the last king before that was the Great Rat King. He was a dirty old man. Died of syphilis on his forty-fourth birthday."

Lily frowned. "What's syphilis?"

Shit! I was bad with kids. "Never mind. Point is we've mostly had kings in power, no queens. Although my sister Clare Princess of Sunshine was recently crowned as second heir to the throne right after the Prince of Darkness. He'll be the one who takes over if anything happens to Miami, but I'm really hoping Clare will surpass him somehow."

"The Prince of Darkness sounds scary. Is he mean?"

"I've never met him, but Freddie says he's a despicable fruit fly who's the closest thing to a hum--He's a bad guy." I made a mental note to avoid using "human" as an insult.

"But he's going to be your next king." Lily pointed out. "That's bad. That's like if my brother Noah became a king. He'd be mean to everyone. He's just a big meanie."

"It's not our place to question the system. The stars determine the next in line to rule and a fairy's place in this world. Of course if Paul commits a major crime he could be expelled to Nevermore and then Clare would become Queen." I was secretly praying for that. A lot of people were. Clare would make a great queen. Graceful, wise, and honest. I looked up to my sister even though she was younger.

I took another bite of the nugget and shut my eyes in bliss. "This is fucking amazing!" Oh no! I cursed again. Damn it!

"You need sauce." Lily took a packet out of the box and ripped it open with those frightening teeth.A thick red substance oozed out dripping into the box. Lily dunked a fry in the liquid.

I had heard many horror stories and suddenly felt sick to my stomach. "Is that fairy blood?"

"What? Eeew! No way! I'm not a fairy vampire. It's ketchup. Try it. It's yummy."

Why was I so trusting of this human? I dipped a piece of my nugget in the sauce. Sweet! The perfect combination with this salty treat. Why was human food so much better than fairy food? All we had was the stupid blueberry farm back at Rhye. "This tastes like crushed tomatoes with sugar. Is that why it's red?"

"I didn't know that! That makes sense." Lily nodded. "Ketchup is yummy. I like it a lot! Now I know what it is."

Despite her size, Lily was nothing more than a curious child. I kept this in mind. "How old are you Lily?"

"I'm six. I'll be seven in May."

"May...Brian." I remembered my goal in befriending this girl. "Lily, I appreciate the food and thank you for not crushing me, but I can't stay here. I have to go back to Rhye. Do you think you can help me get back to the playground? I can find my way back home from there."

"Awww. Do you really have to go, Roger? I don't have any friends. Everyone hates me." The poor thing had tears in her eyes. Why did the other humans hate her? She was adorable. What? No. I was the size of her toys. We couldn't be real friends. This was strictly a matter of survival.

"I'm sorry, Lily. I don't belong here. I'm too small for your world. I need to get back home to my family. They're probably worried sick about me right now." I could only imagine my boys throwing a fit and going mad without me. Especially Brian. I missed him so much.

"You can live in my dollhouse. It's not too big for you. It's the perfect size! See, there's a little bed for you to sleep in just like mine complete with your own baby teddy bear like Mr. Snuffles. Ahh it's so cute, a toy for a toy."

Yup definitely did not belong here. "I'm not a toy!" I snarled.

"Roger, you're doing that thing again when your face is red like Tinker Bell. Are you mad?"

"Yeah I'm mad!" I shouted. "I don't want to live in your stupid pink dollhouse and be treated like a play thing, Lily. You have all your inanimate dolls to do that to. I'm a living creature. Brian was right, humans don't understand the feelings of other beings." I flew to the window and tried my luck again at the handle. It was no use though. The window wouldn't budge. Even if I wanted Lily to help me, she was too short to reach it the crank, and she couldn't fly like me.

"My Daddy used to tell me to treat others the way you want them to treat you." Lily sighed. "I guess if I was small I wouldn't want to live in a dollhouse either."

Did that sound like empathy? No. I couldn't delude myself. Humans were too small minded for that, especially children.

"Sometimes Mommy makes me feel that way...like I'm being forced to live somewhere I don't like at all. I wish Daddy was still here. No, I wish he never married her and my real Mommy didn't die when I was born. Then I wouldn't have to deal with Noah anymore. He can do all these horrible things to me and he never gets away with it because he's Mommy's real son. Mommy says at the end of the year I can become her real daughter and we won't have to worry about the social workers coming to take me away anymore. I'd rather be adopted by a family who actually loves me. Mommy only loved Daddy. She never loved me."

Ah poor baby. I wanted to comfort Lily as she sobbed but I was much too tiny to give hugs without getting squished. So instead I flew back down and landed myself on her shoulder. "Don't cry." I whispered directly into her cavernous ear.

"I'll help you get back home, Roger, but I'm not allowed to leave the house at night. Tomorrow morning when the bus comes to pick me up for school I'll get dropped off at the playground. You'll have to wait until then." Lily said.

"Thank you." I flew down to her hand awkwardly embracing a finger. "I'm sorry the humans in your life are so cruel to you. You seem more like a fairy. You'd belong better in Rhye."

Lily laughed. "Wouldn't I crush everyone? Rhye isn't for me. I'd just stomp around with my big clumsy feet. I don't belong anywhere, Roger."

It was true. Lily was too kindhearted to be a human (at least from what I could see of humans) and much too big to be a fairy.

"I'm stuck here for the night it seems. Is there anything I can do to make you feel better, Nugget?" I offered. "Any games you wanna play? I'm willing to bet I'll kick your ass at hide and seek."

"Nugget?" Lily giggled. "Is that my new nickname?"

"You just seem like a nugget. That's why I took a tasty bite out of you earlier." I teased hoping down to the finger with my teeth marks.

"I'm not a nugget. You're a nugget. You're bite sized." In one swift motion Lily scooped me up into her palm. With a sudden momentum I couldn't fight against I was levitated toward that massive mouth. Oh my God! What the hell? She planted a kiss on my face and then lowered me back to the ground safely. For a moment I thought she was going to bite my head off. My heart was pounding in my chest. Ah there was that rush I got from my adventures. I burst out laughing alongside Lily. "Nugget." I snickered again. Who would have thought a human would bring out my inner child and cater to my spirit of adventure?

I could admit it, I genuinely wanted to be friends with Lily. She was the kind of fairy I'd want as a daughter some day. Now that reminded me of how much I missed Brian. I ran away from him. Would he ever trust me again let alone to be his husband and raise a family with him? Did Brian even want kids? We didn't have that conversation yet. After this stunt he'd probably deem me too irresponsible to be a father. _"I don't want to have to take care of both you and our little_ _sapling_ _. Grow up, Roger!"_ I imagined him telling me.

"Roger?" Lily nudged me with her finger.

"Hmm?"

"I said I like your little ring."She remarked shifting now flat on her stomach to get a better look.

"Thanks." I held it up to show it off to her. "It's my soul ring. I got it the day I met my soulmate."

"What's that?" Lily asked.

Was that why humans carried such coldness in their hearts? Did they not have soulmates?

Before I could explain how the stars had aligned to choose someone destined for me, Lily got up and fumbled in her drawer.It was a human ring. "I got this ring from a bubble gum machine at the mall the other day. I had to hide it so Noah wouldn't steal it. The last time I got a bubble gum ring he took it and forced it down my throat when I was sleeping. I almost died because it choked me. I had to go to the hospital. Mommy blamed me because she believed Noah when he said I was dumb enough to try and eat it. Noah said he wish it did kill me."

If I was any bigger I'd kill that fucker myself. How dare he! Why would he try to murder precious Lily like that? Why did his mother allow this shit? Was she oblivious or did she also hate Lily? Knowing human nature I believed the latter.

"Anyway, I thought the Sunshine Prince should have a crown to go with his ring." Lily placed the ring atop my head and curtseyed again. "Your highness."

"Thank you for this high honor, my lady." I played along.

"Your horse awaits to take you to your castle." She pushed the pink horse in my direction and gestured for me to mount it. No. I'd play with Lily because she deserved a friend and happiness for once but not at the expense of my dignity.

"I'm not a riding a disgusting pink horse." I said bluntly.

"Shh! You'll hurt Pinkie Pie's feelings." Lily covered the horse's ears.

"Sorry. I only travel by car." I dismissed.

Lily frowned but then her face lit up. "Stay here." Then she got up and scurried our the room.

Stay here? As if I had a choice. This entire house was a death trap with no way out it seemed. I flew back up to Lily's dresser. There was a photograph of Lily sitting on a man's lap. Was that her deceased father?

I froze when the door opened. It wasn't Lily who entered; it was her mother. Shit! I couldn't let her see me.

"Lily?" She looked around the room. "Where is that girl now?"

The woman noticed me standing on the dresser, and my heart dropped down my chest. This was it. She was going to kill me.I completely panicked when her large hand came down and picked me up examining me carefully. Playing dead seemed like the best option. I went limp.

"I don't remember you." The mother remarked. "Probably that little ingrate stole you from another girl on the playground." She placed me down in the dollhouse.

 _'Lily wouldn't steal. Noah's the bad one. You've got your kids mixed up.'_ I thought. Was it my place to call her out? If I weren't in this position where I was at this woman's mercy I would scream at her.

She picked up the photograph of Lily with her father. "Oh Henry. I'm trying. I really am. But she's just so difficult. Noah's always been such an angel and so easy to raise. You said not to worry when you proposed that you would be there for her. Why did you have to drop dead within months after our honeymoon and leave me with her? I've seen people last years with cancer. It's not fair! Now I'm left behind with this daughter I never wanted who's acting out because you're not here. You made me promise to take care of her, Henry, but sometimes I think she might be better off in a foster home. All she does is mope around miserably. Her teachers say she's a troubled student who gets into fights every day. She's in first grade. She should be happy go lucky. Not like this. I don't know what to **—** AAAAAAA!!!" She dropped the photograph midway through her rant and screamed taking a bludgeon to my ears in the process.

An itsy-bitsy spider dangled down onto Lily's lamp. Was that what freaked her out? Only the poisonous spiders were the ones to look out for. This was one of the harmless ones. In fact the spider was even smaller than me. If the mother hated flies so much she should keep this guy around because he'd eat them for her.

Instead she ran out and returned seconds later with an oversized can of hairspray. She shook it up and spritzed it at the spider. "DIE YOU MOTHERFUCKER!!!"

When the spider dropped dead I knew it was poison and not hairspray in that bottle. I held my breath praying the toxic cloud of smoke would disperse in my direction. Was this the same chemical from the car that killed Brian's dad?

"MOMMY NO!" Lily came running into the room. She dropped a toy car on the floor. "NO!" Lily cried in horror. "How could you?"

"Honey, there was a spider. I saved you from certain doom. You should be thanking me right now. Now we have to leave the room for a little while until the smell fades. Go watch TV in the living room with your brother." The mother groaned and picked up the car. "And don't steal his toys."

"You could've killed Roger!" Lily sobbed. She picked me up, but I continued to play dead giving Lily a quick wink her mother couldn't catch.

"It's a doll, Lily. Raid doesn't kill dolls. It only kills the no good bugs." Her mother scoffed. "Now come on it's not good to breathe that stuff in."

"Don't let Noah see you." Lily whispered before stuffing me into her pocket. This was going to be a long night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter we see what Brian and the others have been up to on the road in search of dear Roger. Stay tuned. Thanks for reading! Everyone wish me good luck on my last final!


	7. A Shooting Star Leaping Through the Sky

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brian catches a shooting star.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this story is going in a different direction than I originally planned. The focus will be mostly on Maylor, so not as much Deacury. I'll try to give Freddie and Deaky some chapters, but for the most part it's gonna be split between Brian and Roger. Hope you don't mind! Here's the next chapter.

_Brian's POV_

"Face it, Fred, we are completely lost!" Deaky cried.

I wanted to remain hopeful, but the bassist was correct as usual. We had no clue where we were. Whether Freddie would admit it or not, Delilah had gotten us lost. I again tried to look on the bright side. We were together and had each other. Poor Roger was out there in this big scary world all on his own. I feared for him. Would I be able to sense if something bad happened to him? Would I even want to feel that kind of pain?

I stared up at the night sky. The stars didn't seem to shine as brightly. Probably because I had skipped my nightly star duty to go on this quest. When stars weren't visible or if it clouds covered them it usually signified that space fairies were slacking. Oh well. The stars would always be there, just not as vivid as usual. There was a certain star who really was missing from my heart though. Polaris was still the brightest star. I once told Roger that if he followed the North Star, he'd find his way back to Rhye. Maybe he'd heed my advice.

Delilah collapsed onto the grassy field we were crossing and shifted her body into a ball. She purred gently and shut her eyes."Really? Another nap? That's the third one already! We're wasting time!" I cried.

"Brian May!" Freddie scolded. "You do not chastise Delilah like that ever!"

I softened when I realized I had just raised my voice to an innocent animal who was being nothing but helpful. What has gotten over me? "You're right." I sighed, giving Delilah a pet. "You rest, Delilah. You must be exhausted after all this traveling."

"But we might not have gotten lost if Delilah hadn't chased that squir--" Deaky quickly went quiet when Freddie glared at him. Never insult a cat in front of Freddie. "Maybe we should get some rest too. Obviously we're not going to find Roger tonight." Deaky decided. Freddie nodded approvingly.

"What do you mean? This is just a respite. We can't stop here all night! Roger needs us!" I exclaimed.

"Darling, we've been on the road for a full day now. We need our rest or else we won't be proficient in our rescue. It takes energy being chased by hawks you know." Freddie pet Delilah. "My brave girl ran from them so well. She's doing a great job keeping us safe. Don't you think?"

"Brilliant job." I agreed. "I just...I can't rest until I know my Roggie is safe."

"You know Roger's a lot tougher than you think." Deaky said. "I think that's part of the reason why he ran away. We kept treating him like a fragile flower, but he's not. He's sharp as thorns."

"I should have listened." I thought in my mind how I had ignored the warning signs. Adventure was calling to Roger and he fought it off all for a life with me. What did I do in return? Nothing. I just dismissed his pleas for freedom in favor of my own needs with him. "I wanted him safe in the royal tree, but I didn't realize I was smothering him by keeping him protected."

"We all felt that way, darling. It's not just your fault." Freddie assured me. "We sometimes forget that he's the embodiment of an adventurous spirit. It's a rare gift to have and very difficult to deal with. Roger knows he can't just ride the wild wind because he'll get hurt, but he needs his space to explore and breathe otherwise he'll...well, he'll be pushed to ride the wild wind. We just need to remind him that he can still have his adventures even in Rhye. We can spice things up a little and make it more exciting for him."

"I just want him home." I sighed. "I miss him so much and I'm terrified I might never see him again. Or I'll find him flattened like a pancake or his body in pieces or--"

"--This is Roger we're talking about. The lad is practically indestructible." Freddie laughed. "We'll find him, Brian. Don't you worry, darling. All you should focus on is that long overdue talk between the two of you once Roger is found."

"Yeah. I owe him that." I said. "We need to make a compromise."

"I know you'll work it out, dear, because you're meant to be together." Freddie said. "Besides the ice sculpture of the badger I ordered for you wedding is nonrefundable."

"You ordered an ice sculpture of a badger?" Deaky snickered.

"Of course. Ours will be a cat. I already have it arranged with the ice fairies. It's going to be fabulous!" Freddie proclaimed. "Best double wedding Rhye has ever seen!"

"But we have to take care of the runaway groom problem first." Deaky pointed out. He yawned, and laid down atop sleeping Delilah. "I need a nap too."

Freddie cooed, and cuddled up next to him. "Brimi, stargaze with us. Show us all the constellations. There's no point in fretting. Let's just put all this out of our mind until we're well rested and ready to continue our journey."

For once I wasn't in the mood for stargazing. I wasn't really in the mood for anything. I just felt overwhelmingly numb. Haphazardly, I fumbled through the bag Freddie had packed. It was one of those enchanted bottomless bags. Human readers might refer to them as "Mary Poppins bags". I pulled out blanket, and wrapped it around the couple snuggled atop the kitty. "There's also some blueberries in there I packed from the farm." Freddie offered. "I didn't want my Deaky going hungry."

John rolled his eyes. "I'm fine, Freddie. This trip isn't about me. It's about Roger." He shivered moving closer to his soulmate. "Why is it so cold even with your body heat and the blanket?"

"Use your magic, darling." Freddie prompted. "It is nippy out here."

I had never seen a light fairy in action before. John rarely ever used his powers. I didn't blame him though. He could accidentally cause a forest fire that would devastate Rhye. "I don't like to do this." Deaky sighed. He lifted his hand up out from the blanket. When he opened his palm, three balls of fire levitated out of his hand providing light and warmth.

"Amazing!" I remarked, staring up at the blazing spheres hovering over our heads. "Beautiful!" Freddie applauded. He gave Deaky a kiss.

"I'll put them out soon. I don't want to draw attention to us. It's just really cold." Deaky murmured.

"You're brilliant, my little beam of light." Freddie squealed. "Brian, darling, get him a blueberry please. I refuse to let my love go to sleep on an empty stomach."

I rolled my eyes and picked a blueberry out of the bag. It was the human equivalent of a bowling ball in size and a staple in every fairy's diet. Rhye was known for its sweet juicy blueberries. "Do you think Roger's hungry?" I wondered as I took another blueberry for myself.

"I'm sure he'll come across some human food or something." Freddie said hopefully. I cringed. "No! That would be horrible. They eat the meats of other creatures."

"Circle of life." Deaky shrugged as he bit into his blueberry. "I know you're a nature fairy and all, but I'd eat an animal if I had no other choice and had to do so to survive."

"Delilah is a carnivore and I still love her." Freddie reasoned. "I think it's better for Roger to eat an animal than for an animal to eat Roger."

"Oh my God! What if an animal ate him!" I cried.

"Calm down, Brimi. You would know if Roger was dying. Your wings would flash and you'd feel his pain." Deaky said. "If that happens...then we know."

That was what happened to my mother as my father's condition slowly deteriorated until he decayed completely. I shuddered, not wanting to think back to those horrible memories. I wasn't going to let Roger die at the hands of humans like my father. That anguish of losing a soulmate, feeling them take their last breath, was said to be the most painful experience in the world. Poor Mom had to go through it, and I wasn't able to do anything to assuage her.

A thankful distraction came from the moon crescent pendulum around my neck.It was lighting up like John's beacons in the sky.A shooting star must be nearby. Unlike most space fairies, I didn't bother collecting the wish granting stardust (named after our former space fairy King Ziggy Stardust). That kind of magic was more trouble than it was worth.

"Brimi, quick chase that star! We can wish to find Roger!" Freddie shouted.

"That wish won't work, Freddie. It's not specific enough. We don't know where Roger is and without a place in mind, the magic will probably blow a picture of Roger in our direction." I explained.

"Catch it anyway!" Deaky urged. "We might be able to use the wish."

"Very well, but once I catch it, be very careful not to say the words 'I wish' when you're around me unless it's something you really want."Improper phrasing on wishes could lead to disastrous outcomes.Wording needed to be very specific.

I flew into the air, following the glow of my pendulum to guide me to the star. When I was close enough to the beautiful sight of the shooting star leaping through the sky like a tiger defying the laws of gravity, I shut my eyes and twisted the pendulum reciting the ancient spell only space fairies could evoke. "I Brian Harold May of Rhye hereby summon the magic of your wishing spirit to pass on as a gift upon this earth. I take this task of bestowing this wish to whomever casts a request." I twisted the pendulum back in the other direction.

Sparkling dust rained down from the sky in a stunning array of lights. The pendulum around my neck grew heavy as it absorbed the essence of magic until there were no pixels left in the atmosphere. I knew the wish was ready to be granted because the crescent moon was now sparkling with the same mystique as the shooting star itself. It would continue to grow heavier and heavier until the magic escaped and the wish was lost forever. We had a window of about 72 hours to activate the wish.

I returned to Freddie and Deaky who were still cuddling atop Delilah. They looked so peaceful together. If it were up to me I'd wish for that peace and sense of belonging that I could only achieve with Roger in my arms. Alas I could only grant the wish. Besides, that wish was likely too vague, and it involved a third party which would not allow the magic to work properly. In other words a wasted wish.

"Ground rules." I spelled out for the happy couple ogling my pendulum. "Your wish will only be granted if it's for you personally and does not directly involve a third party. So for example I can't wish for Roger to return to Rhye safely. Roger would have to be the one to wish himself home. You have to be precise in your wording and intentions. Wishing yourself to Roger's location won't work unless you know for sure where you're sending yourself. The magic picks up on hesitant hearts. Lastly, and this is the most important rule of all: mean exactly what you say following the words 'I wish.' Be as specific as possible and make sure you mean it and not just in the heat of moment." I only imagined the horrifying aftermath of what would have happened had I been carrying a shooting star during my fight with Roger. I'm sure he meant 'I wish I was human' at the time, so it would have been granted. "Consider long term intentions." I warned. "I can't control the way the magic reacts to your wishes. Once you say the words I wish, I relinquish any power I had and can't stop it. Do you understand?"

"You make it sound like there's not much we can do to help Roger." John frowned.

"It sounds like a very serious responsibility we have to get right. Let's sleep on it." Freddie said. "Maybe tomorrow we'll make it to the playground and with any luck Roger will be there and we won't need the wish."

I gave the couple their space and instead set up a blanket for myself on the grass beneath the stars as they slept on top of Delilah. With the pendulum weighing on my neck, I tossed and turned unable to find rest. When I shut my eyes I saw Roger's sunny smile. I couldn't sleep unless he was laying next to me. My mind crossed through every possible wish that could help but wishing was overrated and either didn't work at all or led to trouble. If sleep alluded me, then I would have to cling to a dream of the future. I shut my eyes again imaging my life with Roger. After my too good to be true Sunshine Prince said "I do" at the altar, we'd spend our days together bickering about nothing and laughing. Of course we'd have little saplings of our own. I wanted them to be like Roger: never giving us a dull moment. Nonstop smiles and cuteness. Did Roger want kids? I just assumed he did because he was so much like a child himself. He'd be a fantastic father. We were soulmates so there could be no deal breakers, but that would be crushing if he didn't want to raise a family. I could imagine Roger playing with our kids for hours and hours and encouraging them to follow their dreams. That would naturally make me the stern one grounded in reality, but you needed that balance. It would be perfect...

I opened my eyes again to the dawn. Roger was missing. Our kids were nonexistent nothing more than a dream. The pendulum was beginning to feel uncomfortable but I ignored it and sat up.

I screamed when I spotted Freddie and Deaky making love in the grass not very far from where I had fallen asleep.

"Brian, you filthy pervert, you don't have to watch." Freddie teased as a mortified Deaky grabbed his discarded clothes.

I stood up and turned around, fluttering any grass, dirt or mountain due out of my wings. I unfurled them with a nice morning stretch after lying on them stiffly through the night. "Are you dressed? Can I turn back around?" I called.

"Ready Freddie!" The night fairy sang. I didn't trust him. "Deaky?" I asked instead. "It's fine, Bri. Nothing to see. You're good." He confirmed.

Thankfully they weren't pranking me to mock my prudeness, and my friends were in fact fully clothed when I turned back around.

Delilah was pouncing on all the sunny patches that danced in the morning shadows. Freddie called her back over so we could continue on our mission.

***

Why did Roger love cars so much? They weren't four wheeled friends as he liked to call them. They were polluting destroyers that caused nothing but trouble even if they were convenient for the humans. I tensed as Delilah carried us along the side of a road with traveling cars. I didn't like this at all. Up ahead, I could see a towering fence. We'd probably be safer there on the other side of that fence. Perhaps it was the playground and Roger was there waiting for us. I could only pray.

"Whoa!" Freddie exclaimed and Deaky gasped shrinking back into Freddie's arms. I glanced back toward the cars scared to see what got them so freaked out. A vehicle even larger than the other humungous deathtraps traveling along the road pulled up beside us, nearly blocking the sun and casting us in shadow. The massive machine was impossible to miss as it was colored bright yellow. Unfortunately, the monster car seemed to be heading in the same direction as us.

"Huh. It's moving slower than the other cars." Deaky noted. "We can almost keep up with it."

"Are you calling Delilah slow?" Freddie clicked his tongue. "That's okay. I forgive you, my darling, but only cause you're cute."

I observed the car as it trailed slowly in front of us, occasionally making stops. Each time it did, a bright red sign reading STOP would pop out from the side. _'Stop altogether.'_ I thought to myself, cringing as black smoke spilled from the back. That's what murdered my father. He had accidentally flown right into that puff of death trying to get home from a negotiation trip in another fairy colony in nearby woods. Seeing it up close like this was even more disturbing than how I always imagined it.

"Brimi, did you hear me, dear?" Freddie snapped.

"S-Sorry. I wasn't paying attention." I stammered. "What's going on?"

"Look." He took my chin in his hands and tilted my head in the direction of that fence that we had now reached. It was overlooking a courtyard full of human children running around and playing with oversized toys and scrambling through various equipments of slides and tubes that could take fairies hours and hours to explore. Ah, this must be the playground. A lot more chaotic than I envisioned, but I should have been prepared for that. I couldn't imagine fully grown humans if the children were this gigantic.

"We made it!" Deaky applauded. "Now all we have to do is find Roger."

"Watch out!" Freddie shouted. Delilah scampered out of the way in time before the yellow vehicle stopped in front of the fence and more humans filed out running toward the playground. Without a care in the world, they all flung their backpacks on a spot beneath a bench. If we were underneath that bench, the bags would have crushed us and that would have been the end. How could Roger enjoy this kind of constant danger? Maybe if I could try to understand him better, it would resolve this out of sync conundrum we'd been facing. Communication was key. Scratch that--Finding Roger was key. We couldn't talk things through and reach a resolution if we were apart.

"I-I've never been this close to them before. They're terrifying." Deaky whispered. "And these are just kids."

"Keep us hidden, Delilah, darling." Freddie said as the cat concealed herself within the bushes beside the fence so we could observe the humans without them discovering us.

One of the humans stood out because she didn't put her backpack down with the others. "That is my new favorite human right there! She has a picture of a cat on her bag." Freddie jumped down from Delilah and crept closer to get a better look. Shit! We were here to rescue Roger, not get kidnapped ourselves. I held Freddie back, but he remained oblivious. "Look at that. It's a picture of a cute cat and it says Hello Kitty underneath it. How adorable!" Freddie cooed. "Are you sure the humans are really that bad? They design the most precious bags. Remind me when we get back to Rhye to start my own Hello Kitty clothing and accessory line. I think it would catch on like mad!"

The girl crouched down, shifting her bag in front of her. I noticed that it was partially unzipped unlike the other bags. She opened it all the way and cupped her hands out in front of it. "Okay, you can come out now! It's safe."

The three of us exchanged looks of curiosity. Then a fairy flew out of the bag and into the girl's hands, and my jaw dropped. It was Roger! I nearly cried. I was elated to see my sweet love again. He appeared perfectly fine, beautiful as always with his blue eyes sparkling in the sun and his golden hair flowing in the wind. But he stood within the hands of a human that could so easily clap together and smash him. A human ring sat atop his blonde locks like a crown. Roger was beaming up at the girl, without a hint of fear. What the hell was going on?

"Do you think she's enslaved him? Made him her tiny pet?" Deaky shuddered. "Why isn't he trying to get away? Has she brainwashed him?"

"Thank you for everything, Lily."

Oh God! Speaking to humans was forbidden. Roger knew that. Everyone knew that. Was he trying to get himself killed? If anyone found out about this, he'd be banished to nevermore forever.

"One of my cats is named Lily. Maybe she's not so bad." Freddie reasoned. "Still though. I hope Roggie knows what he's doing because with just a flick of the wrist on the human's part, he'll be dead."

"I'll never forget you, Roger." The human--Lily--spoke back to him casually. This wasn't supposed to be happening. I felt helpless though. Going up against a human was suicidal. So I just watched anxiously.

Lily lowered her hands back down to ground slowly. I waited for Roger to fly away, far away. What was he waiting for? He removed the ring from his head. "Here. I forgot I still had this on. It's yours."

"No, Roger. I want you to have it. It's just a bubble gum ring. I can get another one the next time I'm at the mall. But they don't have bubble gum machines in Rhye."

She knew about Rhye? Oh no! What was Roger thinking? If this girl blabbed to her human friends about us, then a group of "explorers" would try and find our enchanted forest. We'd have to move to another fairy colony. Maybe the one on Mars with Ziggy Stardust. There were no humans on Mars. We could live free.

"I'm going to tell all my friends about you, Nugget. You're a good human. I hope the other humans come to their senses soon and start to treat you the way you deserve." Roger still hadn't moved from her hands. Also did he just call her Nugget? This was just too bizarre for me.

"Can you come back and visit me or is it too dangerous?"

No! ' _Roger, what is wrong with you! Just say no and get the hell away from her!'_ I mentally screamed.

"I don't think she's going to hurt him." Freddie remarked.

"Yeah. She seems almost....nice." Deaky said tentatively.

"Oh I almost forgot. It's not as good as a jellybean, but here." Lily shifted Roger into just one hand. The fairy stumbled, but his smile still stayed on. Lily took something out of her pocket. It appeared to be an artificial rainbow. She held it between her thumb and index finger and handed it down to Roger. "It's called a marshmallow. I took it from my Lucky Charms at breakfast. Eat it. Your sweet tooth will love it."

"She's trying to poison him." I hissed. "We have to do something."

This time Freddie held me back. "Darling, the girl adores Roger. She means no harm. I can tell. Call it a love fairy instinct. Let them say their sad eyed goodbye and then we can take Roger home. I'm sure he has lots to tell us about his new friend."

"Sad eyed?" I cried. "It's an escape, Freddie. They're not friends. Don't be ridiculous."

"Brian, keep your voice down." Deaky whispered. "We don't want any other humans to see us."

"I'm going to miss you, you silly Nugget." Roger remarked as he clutched the marshmallow. "Stay strong for me, okay? Don't let Noah or your mother bring you down."

Great, now Roger suddenly has a whole family of human friends. This was a nightmare! What were we going to do?

"Be safe, my little fairy." I choked back on a scream when Lily picked Roger up again brought him to her lips like candy. Even Freddie and Deaky went stiff. But the girl only gave his head a kiss and then let him back down. Unfazed, Roger waved to her and flew away.

"W-What the hell just happened?" I stammered.

"Roger is one lucky fairy." Deaky exclaimed.

"That was actually rather touching." Freddie smiled.

Well the important thing was that Roger was safe. Mission accomplished! Roger soared toward us, shrieking excitedly. "Oh my God! Brimi! Deaky! Freddie! What are you doing here?"

"We're here to rescue you, darling." Freddie said.

"I don't need rescuing I'm fine." He dismissed. "I wanna go home. Oh I have so much to tell you guys about my adventures. Anyone wanna try this marshmallow with me?"

Roger was here. Now he stood right in front of me as if nothing had happened casually babbling about ponies and Tinker Bell and all sorts of nonsense. I didn't really take it all in. I was just so relieved to see Roger again--in the flesh. Alive! An instant flash of relief spread across my whole body. I could finally breathe again. "Roggie!" I squealed, picking him up and spinning him around. "Oh Roger! Roger! I missed you so much!"

"Brian!" He exclaimed just as excitedly leaping up to give me a kiss which I eagerly returned.

"Oh man...I really fucked up. I shouldn't have run away. You've given me everything I ever need. I don't know what's wrong with me. I love my life in Rhye. And I love you."

"Awww. I love you too, baby."

"Ah-hem. What about us, darling?" Freddie sassily tapped his foot. "We also risked our lives to come here and find you. We love you too, dear."

"Well we really didn't come across anything too life threatening." Deaky said.

"We were chased by hawks." Freddie cried.

Roger looked at my sparkling pendulum. "Oh my God! Brian, you caught a shooting star! When did that happen?"

"Just now. When I found you." I replied smoothly. "My sunshine." I cooed, leaning down to kiss him again.

We were still far from Rhye, but I was already home as far as I was concerned. Little did I know that our adventure was far from over....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whaaat? There's more? Yes, indeed. Stay tuned. The adventure will be continued! We haven't seen the last of Lily and rest assured she will get the happy ending she deserves😘


	8. Another One Bites the Dust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lily accidentally makes a wish.

_Roger's POV_

"Whatever you do, don't eat that!" Brian scolded taking the marshmallow from me. "Freddie, do you have any more blueberries for him instead? Oh, Roggie, you must be really hungry. Have you eaten? Are you hurt? Did anything happen?"

"I want my marshmallow." I protested snatching it back. "Lily gave it to me. Human food is amazing, and I want it all."

Deaky sniffed the marshmallow. "It's pure sugar, Bri. Nothing bad...well it's bad for your health, but not sinful. Let him have it."

"See!" I insisted taking a bite. Lily was right. It was even sweeter than the jellybean! Did I thank her for the treat? I probably should have thanked her. I looked back at the playground as the others ascended Delilah. Lily was straining her eyes trying to see where I went, still waving nonetheless. I waved back even though she couldn't see me. I was going to miss her. Poor girl deserved better. If only there was a way I could take her back to Rhye where she could have a happy life among the fairies. We'd take care of her and make her feel like she belonged.

"Roger, come on. Let's go!" Brian urged.

A disruptive ringing made us all stop what we were doing. The sound drove Delilah into a frenzy causing her to run rampantly in circles. "AY-OH!" Freddie mocked the noise. "Seriously. What is that shit?" He covered his ears. "It's louder than the tree tower bell." Deaky shouted over the clamor. Thankfully it didn't last too long.

"Look!" I pointed back to the courtyard. All the kids immediately stopped playing, grabbed their bags, and went running into the building overhead. That was probably just the school bell. Lily hesitantly zipped up her bag and slumped it over her shoulders. Only before she could head inside a group of girls approached her. Oh good! Maybe she would finally make some friends at her new school. Lily was in need of love, so friends could give her care and attention.

No such luck. One girl pushed her down. The other two carried her by the limbs and threw her into the desert. Her head was pushed into the sand muffling her sobs. After emptying her bag letting all of Lily's books flop down into the desert along side her, the trio ran away giggling. Why was this town full of fucking sadists? What the hell? I wouldn't let those bitches get away with this shit. Not to sweet Lily. No one should ever hurt her. I saw nothing but red. The wrath of the Sunshine Prince was officially unleashed.

"GET BACK HERE YOU MOTHERFUCKERS!" I shouted, zooming toward the desert like an enraged wasp. The girls were long gone by the time I got to Lily. They had disappeared into the crowd of children going into the building. Eventually the masses all made it through the door, and it shut leaving Lily outside, crying in the sand. She was so distraught that she didn't notice me. Or maybe it was because I was too small. I shook the sand out of my wings and flew over to one of her fallen books. I grasped the spine, trying to pivot it back into the backpack, but it was too heavy for me.

"What the hell are you doing?" I looked up and saw Brian flying toward me, his arms folded indignantly. In the distance Freddie and Deaky were trying to calm Delilah. Good, that would probably take a while so we had time to kill to cheer up Lily before heading back home. "Here, Brimi, help me. I'm not strong enough. If you can take the other side of the spine, we might be able to slide this book--"

"--No one is sliding anything, Roger. Let's get you home." He reached for me, but I jumped away.

I flew up onto Lily's shoulder, trying to keep my balance as it went up and down with her heavy sobs. "I'm not leaving her here like this."

Lily shifted her weight and I fell, but I landed on something soft and familiar--a pair of hands. Her tear stained eyes, red and irritated from sand stared down at me. "R-Roger? Roger, what are you doing here? I thought you left."

"I saw what those girls did to you." I said. "I couldn't just turn my back. I really want things to start to look up for you, Nugget. You don't deserve this."

Very gently she brought me to her chest in a soft embrace. I tried my best to hug back stretching my arms as far as they'd go.

"Damn fairy good nature." Brian sighed from below. "Are you alright...um, Lily, right? It was awful what those other girls did to you. I thought it was typical of humans to do that kind of thing to each other, but you're crying, so I'm sorry. I hate to see any creature in pain, even a human."

I was so proud of Brian for taking this step toward embracing my new friend. It wasn't in a fairy's heart to hate or deny someone in need, but I knew how Brian felt about humans. Without a doubt this wasn't easy for him. Memories of his father likely haunted his mind. Aside from that, simply mustering the courage to even come this close to a human, let alone speak to one was something only mad fairies did. It was both dangerous and illegal, which made it something Brian would never participate in.

"Ohmygod! Another fairy!" Lily squealed. "And he's poofy!"

I flew down from Lily's hand and went to assuage Brian's concerns. He stared up at the human with wide, fearful eyes. I guided him to the edge of the desert so Lily would hear us. "Listen to me _._ " I said. "Lily's a good kid. I can't say much about the other humans I've encountered. From what I can tell they're a bunch of assholes trying to murder her for no good reason."

"That's very reassuring, Roger." Brian said sarcastically."I don't know what you're trying to prove, but Lily seems fine now. Can we go please? Fred and Deaky are waiting for us. We need to get you home where you'll be safe. I promise to find a way to give you adventures and honor your gift because it's a part of you. But those adventures can't be at the expense of your life. You need to understand how much it scares me if you're in any kind of peril. Knowing that you do these reckless things that can kill you gives me a sheer heart attack."

I bowed my head in acceptance. "I want to learn to have a better handle on that burning in the pit of my stomach that can only be cured by an adventure. I know how much it hurts you. You need to know that I'm fully committed to this relationship and I'll try to do better because your happiness is linked to my own. Maybe we can arrange for me to spend more time outside and less time in the tree? Is that a good compromise?" I really did want this to work. I wanted to feel satisfied. Because I felt loved and that was all that mattered in the end.

There was one thing that would guide me to inner peace and closure on my chapters of fleeing foolishly. I flew back up to Lily and kissed her cheek. "Goodbye for real this time, Nugget. I'm sorry I can't take you with me. I pray you find a family who makes you feel like you belong. Don't give up until you find someone who loves you the way your father did."

"I won't give up." Lily replied. "Thank you, Roger. Thank you for being my friend."

I swooped back down to the ground laughing at Brian's stunned expression. Of course now I knew not to fear Lily, but it was fun to mock my soulmate's very reasonable assumption that Lily would crush me. I nudged him playfully. "She stands so tall but she doesn't frighten me at all."

Brian just nodded to Lily. "Thank you for returning him unscathed." We might have been too far away for Lily to hear us, but Brian didn't seem to care. He took my hand and dragged me out of the desert.

"GOODBYE, LILY!" I screamed as loud as I could guaranteeing she'd hear it.

I frowned when her eyes began to water again. Oh no! Not more tears. This was hard enough already.

"Oh Roger, I wish I was small enough to run away to Rhye with you and your friends!" Lily cried.

Brian stopped dead in his tracks. "No!" He shouted. "You don't mean that! Please take it back now before—"

The pendulum around Brian's neck shook violently. Oh no! The shooting star. Lily had just made a wish. "Brimi, do something!" I shrieked.

The stardust catapulted out of the crescent. Sparkles encircled Lily. This was bad! There was no stopping the magic. Brian cursed.

"Pixie dust tickles." Lily giggled. At least it didn't hurther. She laughed failing to realize that she was getting smaller.

I took the pendulum in my hands, twisting it in every direction trying to do something to at least delay the process if not cease it altogether, but it was too late. All the stardust had escaped.

"We have to help her now. We have no choice." Brian said. "Oh, what a mess! What have I done?"

"It's not your fault." I told him. "Everyone knows space fairies are like genies when they have a shooting star. You had no choice. The wish is granted."

I walked back to the desert as Lily continued to shrink. Brian followed murmuring his apologies. What were we going to do? I'd take her back to Rhye with us in a heartbeat, but bringing a human to the enchanted forest (even a fairy sized human) would get us all banished. Besides, Lily couldn't stay this small forever. This wasn't natural for her and she'd have trouble adjusting. Her lack of wings and magic also put her at a disadvantage.

Lily didn't appear to realize how small she was becoming. She swirled her hands through the sparkly particles that surrounded her curiously.Obliviously, she laughed as she rapidly decreased in size. Smaller and smaller she shrank until the stardust faded away leaving her no bigger than an average fairy sapling of her age. To a human this would be roughly the size of a quarter. From the eyes of a fairy, however, I finally saw an ordinary child who just needed love and attention. Lily really was cute and now I was prepared to admit that.

"Ahh man! No more pixie dust." She pouted.

"She doesn't seem to realize what's happened to her." Brian observed."What should we do?"

"I don't want to scare her. Seeing me like this might freak her out." I said.

Lily ran her hands through the sand, picking up fistfuls of grains. "The sand looks like little marbles." She gasped. I wasn't alarmed when she put some of it in her mouth. I'd seen humans eat sand before. That was why I avoided the desert. Kids would stick their hands in the sand and consume it. I didn't want to end up in that clump that went in somebody's mouth when another one bit the dust. Lily coughed the sand back up. "Still tastes like the same sand. Yuck!"

"She's going to figure it out soon." Brian said. "We should tell her calmly and carefully so she doesn't panic."

"You're right." I agreed.

Let's get this over with. I anticipated terrified screams. "Lily?" I called to her. She looked up. Well that was a first. When I said I wanted things to look up for her I didn't mean it this literally.

"Whoa! Roger, what happened to you? You grew!" She trudged through the sand toward me, stumbling slightly. "The sand is different." She explained. "It's thicker and _—_ and it's _—_ it's..."

"Bigger?" I ventured. Maybe I could guide her to the answer without freaking her out.

Lily tumbled, falling backward onto her bum. She was practically covered in sand at this point. Why was she so adorable? Even more so now as she attempted to maneuver her newer, lighter body. It must be quite a transition going from big, clumsy human stomps to the precise, graceful glides of a fairy.

"Aw," Brian cracked a smile, taking the lead and striding over to Lily before I could get to her. "Don't worry, sweetheart. I'll get you cleaned up. You already must be uncomfortable. No need to walk around coated in sand."

He shut his eyes. Suddenly a dark cloud formed overhead in the otherwise blue sky. A single raindrop came down, landed directly on Lily and drenching her. I huffed. Brian said he didn't like to use his powers over nature to disrupt normal weather patterns. So he refused to cause a fantastic drowse so I could go raindrop surfing, but he was willing to make an exception for Lily. Typical.

"Now I'll dry you off by harnessing a breeze, but it'll be counterproductive if we do it here in the sand." Brian helped Lily up, taking her hand. "Try taking gentler steps, less force in your feet. Does that make sense?"

"H-How? You...You can make rain?" Lily's mouth was agape.

"I'm a nature fairy." Brian explained. "If I have to I can use my magic to manipulate the weather, but I don't feel comfortable doing it very often. Some things have to be left to the natural order."

"You're the poofy fairy!" Lily seemed to be connecting the dots at last. "B-But...You can't be. You're so tall. Roger, why didn't you tell me fairies can make themselves bigger? Wouldn't that solve a lot of your problems?"

Brian laughed and I face palmed. "Stay calm." Brian said. "We didn't grow. You got smaller...much smaller."

Lily looked around the desert curiously. The pieces just weren't clicking for her it seemed. Either that or her reaction was minimal. I anticipated at least a scream or something. "We're still in the sandbox, aren't we?" Lily inquired.

I rushed to the other side of her, taking her other hand as we guided her out of the desert. "Lily, remember when I said fairies all have special gifts? Like I have power over beauty so I can make your hair grow long like Elsa?"

"Rapunzel is the one with long hair." She corrected me. "Elsa has ice powers."

I rolled my eyes."Silly me." I deadpanned. "Anyway, Brian's a nature fairy and a space fairy. So as a space fairy he can catch shooting stars and _—"_

" _—_ You grant wishes too? Wow!" Lily gasped. "Can I wish to be a fairy? Please please please! I want to be a fairy and live in Rhye."

"You already made a wish." Brian sighed. "And unfortunately I only had one star. It was used on your wish. I'm sorry, Lily. But don't worry I'm going to set this right somehow."

Lily cocked her head in consideration."When did I make a wish? What did I even wish for?" She let go of our hands and rushed back in the other direction. "Wait. We have to go back. I left my backpack...Ohhh."

Seeing the pink bag now resembling the entrance of an ominous cave and the massive school supplies surrounding it was what it took for Lily to accept her situation. Hey, there was that scream I was waiting for!

"Y-You have to change me back!" Lily shrieked. "Noah is going to kill me if he finds me like this. He'll break my head right off like I'm a Barbie. Or he'll drop me in the fish tank with his siamese fighting fish. Oh no! He might try to flush me down the toilet or throw me away in the trash."

"Noah isn't laying a hand on you." I said firmly. "We won't let that happen. If he comes anywhere near you, Brian will strike him with thunderbolts and lightning."

"What? No! I won't do that!" Brian cried. "Just goes to show you, you spend less than two days in the human world, and you start to get sick, violent ideas like them. Besides, my magic has caused enough damage for one day."

"So can you change me back before Noah or one of the bullies from my class find me?" Lily asked.

"How about we take you back to Rhye instead?" I offered, knowing there wasn't much Brian could do to resolve Lily's little problem. "You'll be safe there." Well, she'd be safer in Rhye than anywhere else. The only problem was bringing her to Rhye could get us banished. If we hid her, it would work out.

"Roger, we're not taking her back to Rhye." Brian exclaimed. "We'll all get banished to Nevermore if we're caught with a human. The only option we have is to wait until nightfall and try to catch another shooting star so Lily can unwish her wish."

"I have to stay like this until nighttime?" Lily cried. "B-But what am I supposed to do? Soon the kindergartners will be out for first recess after morning assembly. I can't stay here. They'll trample me o-or try to pick me up a-and...." She glanced up at me. "Is this what it's like being a scared little fairy?"

"I wouldn't know. I'm not afraid of anything." I said. "Now we need to get out of the desert before the kids come out for recess."

"You will get me back to normal right?" Lily asked.

"As soon as I catch another shooting star." Brian said. "We won't leave Nevermore until you're safe."

"Shooting stars are so rare. What makes you so sure you can find another one so easily? It could take days. Even weeks." I pointed out. "Face it, Bri, she needs to come back to Rhye with us."

"Yes! Can I go to Rhye? Please, please, please!" Lily begged.

"I don't think I have the heart to say no." Brian agreed. "But we're going to have to disguise you as a fairy somehow. We'll tell everyone we found you out here lost. Maybe you ran away from another fairy colony. I doubt they'll be suspicious. Saplings run away and get lost all the time. It's a big world out here, so easy for little fairies to lose their way."

"Yay! I'm going to Rhye!" Lily seemed to forget her troubles and just jumped up and down clapping her hands excitedly. Who cares if she didn't have wings? Stupid rules be damned. Lily would have a better life with us. Too bad she was only staying with us temporarily. No. What was I saying? I couldn't get too attached. Lily was still a human.

Lily couldn't fly and carrying her would weigh us down and prevent us from flying, so we had to travel by foot across the courtyard.Lily craned her neck wayup not bothering to look in front of her. This left me and Brian in charge of navigating her past any pebbles or vines or other obstacles in our way.

"See anything interesting up there, Nugget?" I teased.

"The sky!" She giggled. "It's so far away. I thought it was far away before but now it's _really_ far away! And look how tall the grass is."

"Welcome to my world." I remarked.

" _Our_ world." Brian rephrased.

"Oof!" We guided Lily out of the way before she could knock into the stem of a flower. "Guess I should pay attention to where I'm walking." She murmured.

"We've got you. Don't worry about it." I assured her.

"I tripped over a flower stem the other day and you laughed about it for hours." Brian reminded me.

The memory brought about a smile. "That's different. It was funny and you know it, Brian!" It seemed like we both shared our double standards when it came to our little Lily.

"More fairies?" Lily noticed Freddie and John by the bushes at the other end of the courtyard. "Are we already in Rhye?"

"No, those are our friends Freddie and Deaky. They came here with me to rescue Roger." Brian told her.

Lily slowed her pace. "Do you think I'll get along with the other fairies? What if they don't like me? I don't have wings. I'm not a real fairy. Will they hold that against me?"

"Nonsense. You're adorable. They'll love you." Brian said.

Well that was quick. I thought it would take him more time to embrace her. What happened to Brian viewing humans as problematic? I didn't blame him though. Lily was irresistibly cute.

Freddie and Deaky were quiet when we arrived. We had some explaining to do. Surprisingly, John spoke first. "We leave you two alone for a few minutes and you return with a sapling."

"She's not ours." Brian blurted. "I mean she is...I mean she's our responsibility, but..." Awww, he was so adorable when he stammered like that. 

"Lily, this is John and Freddie. They're our friends. Boys, this is Lily. She doesn't bite. Say hi." I prompted.

"Lily?" John gasped when he noticed her wingless back on closer inspection. Freddie took one look at the shrunken human then back at me. "Roger, what did you do?"

Of course. Why was I always blamed? I didn't even do anything this time. It was Brian's shooting star that got us into this mess. 

"It wasn't Roger." Brian came to my defense. "Lily wished to be small enough to follow Roger back to Rhye and this was the result. I should have warned her about my shooting star, but I typically don't converse with humans."

"So now you've resorted to kidnapping a human child?" Deaky cried. 

"Don't be daft. It's not kidnapping if she's coming with us willingly." I figured. "Hey, Lily, wanna come with us to Rhye?"

She nodded. "Yes please. More than anything."

"See. Not kidnapping." I assured them. "Where's Delilah? Let's get out of here!" 

"I'm afraid we can't go anywhere." Freddie sighed. He beckoned us deeper into the bushes where we found Delilah curled in a ball whimpering. "She got a nasty thorn stuck in her paw. Poor baby. Every time I come near the paw to pull it out, she hisses at me. Same with Deaky. I don't know what to do." 

"T-That's a big kitty." Lily hid behind Brian's legs. 

"Excuse you, darling. Delilah is a lady. You know it's not polite to call women big. They'll take it as an insult. I don't know why though. Fat bottomed girls make the rocking world go round. But if you comment on their fat bottom, you'll earn scornful looks." Lily giggled and stopped trembling but still didn't go near Delilah. 

"You can't go around fat shaming women, Fred." Deaky said. 

"Fat shaming? No! I'm complementing them. It's not my fault they take it the wrong way. Like the other day when I went shopping with Mary and she tried on a skirt and asked me if it made her butt look big..."

"Thats a trap! You're supposed to lie!" I interrupted anticipating where this was going. 

"I was honest with her. I told her she looked voluptuous and the bigger the better. She stormed out of the store in tears. And they call me the drama queen!" 

"Alright. That's enough." Brian dismissed Freddie's life lesson. "Let's see what we can do about Delilah." 

Lily quickly shifted to hide behind me when Brian went to approach the cat. "It's okay." I told her. "I know Delilah's a little bit scary, but I've never seen her hurt a fairy. Freddie swears by cats. He says they pose no harm to us." 

"But I'm not a fairy." She whispered. 

I turned around and bent down to pick her up. Oh how the tables have turned. Hopefully if I held her she'd feel more secure. "You're an honorary fairy as far as I'm concerned."

"I'll distract Delilah and one of you will pull the thorn from her paw." Brian instructed. "Any volunteers?" 

"I can't. I'm holding a Lily." I announced trying to make her laugh. Success! She had such a sweet laugh. 

"I'll do it." Freddie said. "But she's hard to distract." 

"If anyone can do it, it's Brian. He's a nature fairy. Animals love him." I boasted. 

Lily shut her eyes as Brian and Freddie approached Delilah. "Don't you worry, darling. I'm gonna take that thorn right out and you won't be in anymore pain. Just focus on Brimi." 

Brian boldly stepped in front of the cat's face. He cleared his throat and began to sing. _"In the year of '39 assembled here the volunteers/In the days when lands were few/Here the ship sailed out into the blue and sunny morn/The sweetest sight ever seen..."_

Delilah was captivated, giving Freddie the opportunity to yank the thorn right out of her paw. She didn't even notice. Her attention was on Brian, and she purred. "That's my brave girl! Oh darling, I'm so proud of you!" Freddie exclaimed reaching up to pet the cat. 

"S-She's kinda cute when she purrs like that." Lily said. 

"I told you there's nothing to be afraid of, love." I replied. "Wanna go down now?" I set her back down on the ground gently. Apparently something caught Lily's eye because she ran in the other direction. "Oooh!" 

"Lily get back here!" I called, chasing after her. 

"Now you know how we feel when you run from us." John quipped. 

Thankfully, we caught up easily with Lily. She hadn't gone very far. "Look!" She exclaimed pointing to the dropped rainbow marshmallow in the grass. "It's my Lucky Charm. Wow! It's so big now. I don't think I can even fit it in my mouth." 

"That's what she said." Freddie chortled. 

Call me immature, but that made me burst into laughter. Deaky just rolled his eyes, and Brian looked annoyed. "Please, we're in the presence of a child." 

"Oh you're right, Brian. I'm so sorry." Freddie apologized. "Don't worry about it, Deaky, darling. I'll explain it to you when you're older." 

"Freddie, I think he was referring to Li--"

"EEEK! Giant ant! Roger help!" Lily comically fled from the creature. 

"Relax. This little guy won't hurt you. It's the larger animals you've gotta look out for." I reached down and pet the ant's antenna. The bug ignored me and went to munch on the sugary treat. "See? He just wants to eat your marshmallow." 

"Ahhh. You're so precious." Freddie cooed taking his turn picking Lily up. "Look at you running from ants. What a silly little human! I love her! Can we keep her?" 

"Freddie, she probably has a loving family of her own that she needs to get back to." Deaky said. Lily shook her head. "Nobody loves me, not even my step-mommy." 

"And what happened to your real Mommy, dear?" Freddie asked. 

"She died." Lily explained. "So did my Daddy. All I have is my new Mommy and my big brother Noah. They both hate me especially Noah." 

"Well then we'll have to adopt you." Freddie said. 

"Let's not get any crazy ideas." Brian said. "Lily, I'm sure that's an exaggeration. I doubt they hate you. They're going to worry about you. We have to get you back to them. Besides, you don't want to spend the rest of your life the size of a fairy, right?"

"Umm..." Lily looked up to the sky again. "No, I guess not." 

"Well I have an idea on how we can fool people back in Rhye until we find another shooting star." Deaky said. He rubbed his hands together and suddenly a pair of reflective silver wings appeared to sprout out of Lily's back. "M-My own wings?" She strained her neck trying to view them. 

"No way!" I exclaimed. "How did you do that?"

"It's light. Nothing but an illusion." Deaky touched the wings showing that his hands went right through them. 

"So I can't fly even though I have wings?" Lily pouted. "They're not real?" 

"How come you made her a day fairy?" Freddie asked. "Make those wings black, darling. My little Lily is a night fairy just like me!" 

"No! No! No! She's a sunshine all the way." I protested. "Next in line to the throne after Clare. You're looking at our future Queen, gentlemen, and she's totally a day fairy." 

"Roger, _you're_ the next in line after Clare." Brian reminded me. Ugh! I didn't want to think about that. Being King was way too much responsibility for me to handle. I was glad Clare was in line before me even though she was younger. 

Lily turned to me, her eyes bulging. "You never told me that, Roger!" She curtseyed. "You really are a Your Majesty then. My Fairy King." 

"Full of class. Isn't she marvelous?" Freddie proclaimed. "Are you sure we can't keep her?" 

Oh if only we could....


	9. Lily of the Valley

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys bring Lily to Rhye.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaand grades are in! Straight A's!!!!! It's a fucking miracle! If I can get my ducks in a row (quack, quack 🦆) and not mess up next semester, I'll graduate top of my class. If I hadn't gotten a B+ freshman year, I could have been Valedictorian. Oh well. Anyway, I don't have to go back to school till 2020, so now I can write nonstop! That's unhealthy and obsessive, but I don't care at all. Hooray!!!

_Roger's POV_

I gasped when I saw the crowd surrounding the royal tree. It seemed like both families the Sunshines and theDarknesses were gathered by the bark. King Beach headed the congregation. "It's been nearly 3 days." He announced. "Has anyone heard from them? Paul, you were the last to speak with them. Do you know anything?"

"The Sunshine Prince fled." The man speaking had a familiar voice. I put two and two together. He was the stranger from the party. "John Deacon failed to stop him from traveling to Nevermore as was his job to keep Prince Roger safe. Instead he forced the Brian and Freddie to join him on this insane quest to _—"_

 _"—_ Darling, please, enough with the lies! Nobody believes you." Freddie forced his way through the crowd.

"The missing fairies have returned! Let us commence with the dusk ceremony as planned." Miami proclaimed. There was a cheer and then the applauding crowd dispersed.

Lily held my hand, not saying a word, an expression of wonder written on her face as her eyes explored the forest.

Clare came running to me. "Roger, where have you been? We've been looking everywhere for you! I can't believe you ran off like that again! Why can't you just be happy at home?"

"A real fairy princess!" Lily squealed.

Far from the girl reprimanding me moments earlier, Clare knelt down and smiled at Lily. "Hi there! I'm the Sunshine Princess, but you can call me Clare. What's your name, sweetheart?"

"Lily."

"Lily." Clare repeated. "You know that's my favorite flower. I bet you love floating around in the Water Lily Lagoon. Are you a water fairy like me?"

Lily looked back to me. "She doesn't know yet." I was quick to come up with an excuse. "The stars still haven't set her magic revelation date." It was rare for saplings Lily's age not to discover their gifts but it wasn't unheard of. Most knew their place by the time they were two or three, but it could take up to the time a fairy turned ten years old.

"Well I pride myself on knowing every fairy in Rhye. I am going to be Queen some day. So it's wonderful to meet you, Lily. Where's your family? Let's see if I know them."

Shit! Rhye was a small community (literally). Most fairies were familiar with each other. Questions would be asked. Why hadn't I anticipated this?

"Clare, I see you've met our brave little Lily." Brian approached with a story already in mind. "Did Roger tell you what a hero he was rescuing her from a neighboring fairy colony?"

"My brother a hero?" Clare laughed. "This I need to hear. How did you save the day, Roggie?" She teased ruffling a hand through my hair affectionately.

"Oh I don't like to brag. You tell her, Bri?" I elbowed him. What was he planning?

"Roger ran off because he heard Lily calling for help from across the way." Brian fabricated.

John raced to help confirm the lie. "We didn't realize Roger was going on a rescue mission when we went on our rescue mission to go find him."

"Exactly!" I went along with it. "That's why I went to Nevermore to save Lily."

The story caught the attention of some of the other royals. Miami flew over to us. I gulped. "And what were you doing in Nevermore, little one?" He calmly asked Lily.

"Fleeing for her life of course." Freddie blurted. "Her colony was destroyed by humans."

Sure why not? "And I saved her!" I took credit. I picked Lily up and tried to walk away with her. "She's been through a lot, so it's best not to harass her with questions like this. You need your rest, Lily. I'll get you your very own royal leaf bed. Say goodnight!"

"Hang on." Paul stepped in front of me, blocking me. "I see a lot of fallacies in your story."

"Your face is a fallacy." Not my best snarky comeback but I was under pressure.

"How could you hear her calls from so far away?" He pressed.

"The important thing is that Lily is safe here in Rhye, far away from the humans." Brian said.

"I don't know. What if the humans follow her here? Is it really a good idea to let her stay? She's been exposed to the humans. There's a reason contact with humans results in a banishment. She could have diseases now. She should be quarantined before she spreads the pixie plague. That could wipe out a whole colony of fairies."

"That's enough!" Miami shouted. "We do not deny a fairy in need. Ever. Lily, you are welcomed here in Rhye.Now let's proceed with the dusk ceremony. The show must go on!"

Paul plucked the crown off my head and held it up for everyone to see. "Look! It's a human ring! The Sunshine Prince has made contact with humans and John Deacon condoned it!"

Freddie snatched the ring and put it back on my head. "That's a crown not a ring. You know nothing about fashion, darling." He scoffed. "Now go away so we can enjoy the ceremony in peace."

"The ceremony is about to start soon. John, shouldn't you be taking your place with the other light fairies?" Paul ordered. "Don't worry about Freddie. I'll watch him for you."

" _We'll_ watch him for you." Brian corrected stepping in front of Freddie protectively. Paul rolled his eyes and flew away.

"I don't think I like him very much. He seems scary and mean." Lily whispered. "Is he the Prince of Darkness?"

"Don't worry, Nugget. Miami said you can stay and he's King, so he he has the final say." I assured her. If Lily was getting kicked out of Rhye, it would have to be when she was back to human. Not now. I wasn't letting her go any second sooner.

"Oh Lily darling, you have to watch the dusk ceremony with us." Freddie proclaimed. "It's guaranteed to blow your mind!

"You only love it because Deaky's in it." I pointed out.

"Is it that obvious?" Freddie grinned sheepishly. He waved to John who joined the other light fairies fluttering their wings in preparation for flight.

"What do you do in the dusk ceremony?" Lily asked.

"The light fairies use the last remaining specks of daylight to create colorful fireworks that light up the sky in celebration of night's arrival. It's more exciting than the sunrise ceremony. I'm not allowed to say that as a Sunshine, but I don't really care." I admitted.

As the sky darkened, the light fairies absorbed the fading particles of sunlight into their hands. Then they took flight, lighting up their wings in a display of rotating colors in a synchronized dance in the sky.

"I can't see." Lily complained, hopping up and down trying to get a better view. Must be horrible not being able to fly. "Ahh." I hoisted her up over my shoulders. "Better?"

"Wow!" I took that response as a yes. Lily didn't say anything else because she was most likely engrossed in the show.

By the time the sun had completely set, the fairies initiated their sparkling fireworks. Each fairy sent a different color of spiraling light up into the air. Lily scrambled down from my shoulders and winced, covering her ears. Strange reaction to such a vibrant display. "Hey, what's wrong?" I asked her.

"I don't like fireworks." She whispered, quivering as she pressed her hands tighter against her ears.

"Who doesn't like fireworks?" I cried, picking her up again. "Look up. You're missing it!"

"No! I don't like them. They scare me when they make the noise." Lily pouted. What was she talking about? Lily removed her hands from her ears and looked up curiously. "Where's the sound?"

"What sound?" I questioned. "They're silent. Nothing but lights."

"B-But it's supposed to go BANG! BANG! BANG! Really loud like a gun." Lily explained.

"That sounds horrifying. Why would fireworks do that?" Did human fireworks make noises like that? That was dumb. How could anyone enjoy them if that were the case? Well maybe if it was more like the beat of a drum, but gunfire was something else altogether...

"I-I don't know." Lily whimpered. "They just make the sound...but these don't?"

"No. No noise. I promise. Just watch them, okay? Nothing to be afraid of." I put her back up on my shoulders, but held my hand up for her to hold. Lily squeezed it tightly after each and every firework as if she were bracing herself for a noise that never came. If it was that loud on a human's ears, I could only imagine what that thunderous noise would sound like to a fairy. Not fun at all.

The ceremony commenced and the light fairies all took their bows. The spectators applauded boisterously. Freddie blew kisses to John. "Wasn't he spectacular?" It was a rhetorical question because Freddie flew off to go embrace Deaky before any of us could comment.

"Well I have star duty now." Brian said. He gave me a chaste kiss and said goodbye to Lily before running to catch up to the space fairies who were already heading out to the meadow.

I lowered Lily back down to the ground. "So what did you think?"

"It was so beautiful! I loved it! Can we see it again?" She asked eagerly.

"Tomorrow night. We do it every night." I told her. "In fact, I might bring my drum kit here tomorrow. You might like it better with a little noise accompanying it." It was a tease, but that idea actually sounded awesome. Every time a firework went off, I'd go bang bang bang on my snare!

Lily giggled. "No! I like them better quiet. Will you show me the sunrise ceremony in the morning too?"

"Of course. I told you it's not as good, but you can still see it. I'm sure you'll like it."

"Wait." Lily frowned. "It's nighttime. That means there's gonna be stars. I have to go home. Don't I? Can I stay one more day? Please please please. I promise I'll be good, Roger. Don't send me back. I don't wanna go home. I feel like I just got here."

 _'Please don't let there be a shooting star tonight.'_ I silently prayed. ' _I can't say goodbye. I'm not ready.'_

"Deaky!" Lily got distracted when Freddie and John approached us. "Deaky you were awesome!" She ran to him and gave him a hug. "Aww, look, Freddie, I'm getting a human hug! Isn't she the best?" John hugged back the adorable sapling.

"Well _you're_ the best, my love, but Lily is a close second." Freddie remarked. "By the way, Lily the human, have you met Lily the cat? I think you two will get along."

Lily shook her head. "I only met Delilah."

"Oh I'll have to introduce you to all of my cats." Freddie said excitedly. "So much to do, so little time!"

Oof that reminder hurt! Why did Lily have to leave us and go back to that human world? She was miserable there. Everyone was cruel to her, and fireworks sounded like gunshots. It was hell with the exception of McDonalds.

"I'll have to skip cricket choir tonight to fit everything into our agenda." Freddie sighed.

"I think Lily would enjoy listening to the cricket choir especially since your'e the one leading the chorus." Deaky said. "Oooh. I can teach you how to play guitar. Would you like that, Lily?"

She nodded. "Before Daddy died, he taught me how to play piano. Mommy didn't want to spend money to continue my lessons so I had to stop."

"That bitch!" Freddie shouted. "Don't worry, Lily, darling, I'll take you under my wing. I have a piano in nearly every room in the tree. You never know when inspiration will strike!"

"He even has a piano by our bed." Deaky explained. "I've woken up in the middle of the night to him playing it upside-down while lying backwards."

"How do you do that?" Lily asked.

"He's Freddie fucking Mercury. That's how." I reasoned.

"Well all you have to do is lie back and reach up to the piano keys behind you. It's really not too difficult. I'll show you." Freddie offered.

"So that's cricket chorus, piano lessons, guitar lessons, and an introduction to your cats. Are you sure we can squeeze all these activities into one night?" Deaky wondered.

Lily would have to stay longer than just one night. She needed to have some fun. Maybe I could manage to distract Brian while he went chasing after that shooting star. Yes, that was what I had to do. He'd miss Lily's ticket because he'd be so focused on me. Then we'd have to wait another night to send Lily back.

"Lily, how would you like to spend the night with Freddie and Deaky?" I proposed. "Does that sound like fun?"

"Yes, but what about you, Roger? Can't you be with us too?" Lily was hesitant to leave my side.

"Maybe I'll join you later." I eased her. "But I wanna go see Brian right now."

"Oooh." Freddie purred. "Date night!"

"Yeah. Something like that." I downplayed my real plan. Freddie and Deaky would probably be on board, but I didn't want to say anything in case I was just giving up Lily's hopes. I really wanted her to stay with us as long as possible if not forever.

***

"Do you think we did a good job? How do the stars look?" Brian was staring up at the sky. With the flick of a wrist, he made the clouds part so we could get a better view. "See any shooting stars up there?"

"I'm sure we'll see one eventually. Why don't we do something fun in the meantime? You know Clare really got me thinking about the Water Lily Lagoon. We should be able to get a nice view of the stars from a raft. Won't that be romantic?" I suggested.

"I don't know about that, Roger. Water fairies are off duty at night for a reason. It's not safe. All the nocturnal animals come out and drink from the lagoon, and the frogs love to snack on the fireflies that fly around there at night. They're known to eat fairies as well."

"Come on, where's your sense of adventure? Let's go!" I laughed and flew away in the direction of the lagoon making Brian chase after me.

I knocked down the sign declaring the lagoon closed and flew over the vines blocking the area. "Roger, you get back here!" Brian called. "Catch me if you can!" I giggled.

I leapt up onto one of the lily pad rafts resting on the shoreline. Leaning against the edge, I broke the seashell barrier to set myself adrift. As I floated off, I realized I had forgotten to take a twig paddle. If my wings got wet, I couldn't fly away, but I'd be fine if I remained dry. Brian flew onto the lily pad with me. Thankfully, he had a paddle. Unlike me, he probably thought about this ahead of time. "This is a bad idea." He said.

"Look at the moon." I pointed to the full circle beaming brilliantly against the dark night sky. "It is beautiful." Brian agreed. "You're right. The view of the stars is fantastic from the lagoon."

"We should do stuff like this more often." I sighed, getting lost in those hazel eyes. "It's kinda nice. Just you and I."

"If this is the kind of stuff that'll keep you happy, then I'll do it. I'm trying to understand why danger turns you on so much, but I don't mind this as much as I thought I would." Brian remarked.

A harmonic chirping in the distance told me Freddie was doing his job for once. Those crickets sounded lovely. Buzzing fireflies swirled around us lighting up the lagoon.

"It's not the danger per say. It's the thrill." I replied. "That adrenaline rush that makes my heart race. I love that feeling. The only other time I feel that complete is when I have sex with you."

Brian nearly fell into the water. "W-What?" He sputtered on a gasp.

"Was that a weird thing to say?" I glanced down at my feet, now embarrassed. It was the truth, but it did sound a little bizarre saying it out loud.

"No...Okay maybe if we're being honest." Brian admitted. "But I'm flattered even if it is a bit strange. Sex with you is certainly something that makes my heart race...and I do feel complete and alive like you do."

I was so happy we felt the same way I could scream. I would scream like I normally did when I felt a flood of emotions either good or bad, but I didn't want to catch the attention of any frogs or predators out here. I saw a figure moving in the distance. As we got closer, I recognized it as a toad. A roaring ribbit accompanied its puffing stomach. The toad's sticky tongue catapulted outward and snatched up fireflies in midair.

I grabbed the paddle from Brian and steered us back in the other direction away from the possible peril. Just because I sought adventure didn't mean I was pursuing my own demise. Although I had to admit this was what I was looking for in terms of amusement. I was having a lot of fun.

"Any closer and we might have died!" Brian cried.

"But we didn't." I assured him. "We're still here!" I waited for him to scold me and call me reckless, but he didn't. He just sat there quietly as we floated giving my outlook on risk some thought.

"Thank you for trying to understand." I broke the silence. Most people wrote me off as crazy. Even though the spirit of adventure was my gift, other fairies failed to comprehend that it was a part of me.

"I almost lost you because I didn't understand." Brian said. "I just dismissed your needs, and it drove you away. I'm sorry. I'll try to be better."

"We'll both be better." I agreed. "Believe it or not I learned a thing or two spending some time with humans. Life is precious, and I should value mine more. If I get hurt, I'm also hurting you. So I'll try to find a way to stay safe while still--Oh shit! Get down!" I knocked Brian down, accidentally capsizing our raft in the process. We flipped into the water as a frog's tongue darted directly above us.

I bopped back up reaching for the lily pad to cover us. Brian emerged from the water. "What the hell, Roger?"

"Shhh!" I peeked out from beneath the lily pad meeting the big bulging eyes of the frog. It definitely saw me. I cowered back underneath the lily pad as it launched its monstrous tongue in my direction.

"We're kinda fucked." I laughed nervously. "Remember when you were telling me how you were trying to understand my choices better because you love me? Is that still true?"

"Ask me again when we're not about to die." Brian said securing his side of the lily pad over our heads.

Suddenly, the pendulum around his neck began to glow. Oh no! I didn't want there to be a shooting star tonight, but now was the worst time. There was a thump overhead, and a heavy pressure lowered the lily pad. We were being pushed down into the water by its weight. The frog must have jumped onto the lily pad and was now directly on top of us. Both of us pushed back against the lowering lily pad so we wouldn't drown. The only other option was to reveal our hiding spot and get eaten.

"If I catch the star, you can wish us out of this mess!" Brian said. "But it'll be a wasted wish. We need it for Lily."

I shook my head. It would take too long for Brian to catch the star and by the time I came up with a wish specific enough to help us escape, we'd be dead.

"I have a better idea." I yanked the glowing pendulum off its chain. I popped up from beneath the lily pad, dodging the frog's protruding tongue. I held up the flashing crescent to get the amphibian's attention. "Hey, frog face!" I shouted. "Fetch!" I threw the pendulum as far as I could. It landed somewhere across the lagoon, its glow faded slowly as it sunk into the murky water. Sure enough, the frog hopped away in search of the shiny distraction.

"Fuck yeah!" I screamed in triumph. Brian stared at me with his jaw wide open. I just grinned. "Race you back to the surface?" I dove into the water and swam away.

Now that was an exciting date! Probably the best date I've ever been on. Best of all ,we both made it back in one piece. What could be better? "Wasn't that fun?" I exclaimed fluttering the water out of my wings. I danced in the sand giddily. "I'm so happy that you went on this adventure with me, Brimi. It's always better when I have a partner in crime!"

"Roger, do you have any idea what you've done? We trespassed, almost died, and now you've lost my space pendulum. How could you?" Brian cried.

"You can get a replacement, right?" I figured. "Don't space fairies get handed those things right and left?"

"No, I can't. I've had that pendulum since I was two years old. It was presented to me on the date of my magic revelation. It was crafted by star magic specifically for me." His hands traveled to his neck as if he were searching for the missing emblem. "I can't catch stars without it and not having it on me at all times makes me feel empty."

It was likely how I felt being cooped in the tree suppressing my urges to explore and make mischief. With that pendulum, Brian was denied part of his gift. I couldn't believe I had acted so rash and not considered how this would impact him. Shit! Why was I always fucking up? "I'm sorry." That didn't help. My words wouldn't get Brian's pendulum back. It was at the bottom of the lagoon. There was a chance a fish could swallow it before a fairy could find it. What have I done?

"I don't know what I'm going to do." Brian sighed.

"I'm sorry." I said again. "I really am, Bri. You have to forgive me. I wasn't thinking."

"You should think more often. It would solve a lot of our problems if you just used your brain from time to time." He said sharply.

I cringed. At least Brian wasn't like the others and thought of me as brainless, but that still hurt. I didn't need the reminder that I was typically seen as a dumb blonde with nothing to offer beyond the beauty. When I did dumb shit like toss Brian's precious pendulum into the water, it made me believe that people were right and I was empty upstairs.

"You got us out of there alive and I'm sure you meant well, but this is a loss that's difficult for me to just forgive and forget." Brian said.

I didn't know what to say. Was I even worthy of his forgiveness? All this was my fault. I did nothing but cause him trouble from running away to throwing away his pendulum.

"And what are we going to do about Lily? Without my pendulum, we can never send her home. Poor thing is probably so homesick. I don't want to be the one to bring that bad news to her. Imagine how afraid she'll be, trapped forever in this big world where she doesn't belong."

For once Brian was wrong. Since she made her wish, Lily had done nothing but giggle and smile. Well, she got a bit upset over the fireworks, but that didn't last very long. Overall, it was a complete turn around from the way she sobbed those giant raindrop tears clinging to that huge teddy atop her bed. This was a better life for her and I believed that with all my heart. "Don't worry about Lily. I'll be the one to tell her what happened since I was the one who lost the pendulum and not you. And I think she'll take it better than you think. She's having a great time here with us. She doesn't want to go back and I don't blame her. She was miserable with the humans."

"We ruined her life, Roger. She's a human stranded in the fairy world. How long do you think she'll last without wings and the natural instincts and agility of a fairy? Sooner or later, she'll be exposed, or she'll get hurt."

"No she won't. We'll make sure she won't. We'll take care of her until we can fix this." I vowed. Nothing would happen to my Lily if I had anything to say about it. "Brian, I know I fucked up again, but I promise I'll make it up to you somehow and I'll watch over Lily. I won't let anything happen to her. When she's with me, I'll make sure she always feel safe and loved."

"The best thing for Lily is to send her home, but it looks like that's impossible at the moment." Brian said. "So we'll just have to figure something else out in the meantime. I like that you're so keen on making her feel comfortable here with us. This must not be easy for her. She's lucky she has you, Roger. You have a big heart. You can even love a human."

"Lily's different. Now I need to go see her and make sure Deaky did a good job of babysitting her and Freddie."

*******

I found Lily fast asleep on Freddie's lap as he played the piano, singing a soft melody. Deaky sat next to Freddie contentedly resting his head on the singer's shoulder, his eyes fluttering shut much like Lily's.

_"..Messenger from seven seas has flown_

_To tell the king of Rhye he's lost his throne_

_Wars will never cease_

_Is there time enough for peace?_

_The lily of the valley doesn't know."_

"That's beautiful." I whispered.

Freddie looked up from the piano. "Ah. I was hoping you had gotten lost so I could keep my precious Lily of the Valley all to myself. What a sweetheart! It was a pleasure taking care of her. We had a lot of fun." He ran his hands through her hair as she slept. "How does she have such smooth, silky hair? I'm jealous."

I shrugged not giving away the secret of my magic. Deaky stirred. He yawned and stepped up from the piano bench to stretch. "Your lullabies always make me fall asleep. What did I miss? Ahhh, Lily's so cute! Look, she has her little thumb in her mouth. How adorable!"

"Shush, darling! You'll wake her." Freddie hushed. "She must be exhausted after everything we did this evening. I couldn't even fit in that piano lesson. The moment I started singing, she was out cold."

"What did you do with her?"

"We rode around on the cats, then we took her to the lady bug petting zoo, and after that Lily got hungry, so we took her to the blueberry farm for a snack." Deaky recounted.

"Silly girl got blueberry juice all over her clothes so I took her back to the tree to get her measured for a new outfit." Freddie gestured to the frilly pink dress Lily was wearing.

"While Freddie worked with the seamstress, I taught Lily some chords on the guitar. She's a quick learner." Deaky remarked. "I was always told that humans were slow and oafish, but Lily's nothing like that. She's very bright."

"Where's Brian?" Freddie asked. "Oh no! Please don't tell me he found a shooting star. There's still so much I wanna do with Lily."

"He's talking to Miami about getting a replacement pendulum. It's a long story." I didn't want to delve into all the details right now, but of course I was met with questions.

"How could he lose his pendulum?" "Can he get a replacement?" "Does this mean Lily's staying with us permanently?"

"I don't know." I sighed. I picked up Lily and gingerly cradled her to the guest room right next to the room I shared with Brian. Freddie and John followed. I tried my best not to wake Lily but she stirred. Big brown eyes blinked open and a small smile crept over her lips. "Roger!" She slurred sleepily.

"Time for bed." I said, setting her down on the leaf bed.

"But I can't go to bed. I have to change into my pajamas." Lily protested.

"And we have to read her a bedtime story of course." Freddie insisted.

"I'll go get the fairytale book from the library." Deaky said.

"And I'll go get the rest of Lily's new wardrobe from the seamstress so I can set up her closet!" Freddie declared. "You're going to love your new pajamas, darling. In fact, you're going to love all your new clothes. Fashion fairies know best! Oh how I wish I got the gift of fashion instead of song or love."

Maybe it was a good thing that Brian lost that pendulum. With Freddie asking for wishes like that, any shooting stars he caught would only cause trouble. Freddie wouldn't be Freddie if he had a different gift. A wish like that was life altering, and none of us wanted such a drastic change.

"Lily, honey, while we wait for them you can go brush your teeth in the bathroom. You'll find everything you need in there to get ready for bed." I instructed.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Do I have to brush my teeth? I'll just brush them in the morning."

"If you don't brush your teeth, the blueberries will stain them blue." I warned. "You don't want that."

"That'd be so cool! I want blue teeth!" She jumped up and down on the leaf bed excitedly, clearly not tired at all anymore. "Look at me, Roger! I'm flying just like a fairy! Watch me fly!"

"You're jumping not flying." I pointed out.

"What about now?" With a running start, Lily leapt from the bed. "NO!" I cried rushing to catch her before she hit the ground.

Only Lily didn't fall. She hovered in the air just above the floor. It was like she really was flying. "What the hell?"

"Brian!" Lily squealed.

I turned around to see Brian standing in the doorway. His hands guided the strong wind gusts which kept Lily floating in the air. Well that explained it. He lowered Lily back down the ground so she landed safely on her feet.

"Did you see me? I was flying! I was flying!" Lily proclaimed. "I was just like a fairy. A real fairy!" She climbed back onto the leaf bed. "I'm gonna try again!"

"No!" Brian and I shouted.

"Why don't you fly your little butt over to the sink and brush your teeth? Real fairies brush their teeth every day twice a day!" I said.

"Okay boomer." Lily giggled. Surprisingly, she followed directions this time. I had to get her a mushroom stool to stand on so she could reach the sink, but other than that there were no problems getting Lily ready for bed. Freddie and Deaky came through with the pajamas and bedtime story.

Now fresh and in her new pajamas courtesy of Freddie, Lily nestled herself on my lap as Freddie, Deaky, and Brian debated over which story they would read from the big book of fairytales.

"What happened to Brian's necklace?" Lily asked. "It used to have the croissant now it has nothing."

"It's a crescent moon," I clarified. not a...a..."

"Croissant. It's a bread thing humans eat." Lily giggled.

"That. It's not that." I said. "Anyway, don't worry about the pendulum." Brian seemed to be in a chipper mood as opposed to earlier, so I assumed Miami had given him good news and he was able to get a replacement after all.

"Okay, darling, we're reading Thumbelina." Freddie announced.

"We think it's applicable." Brian said.

Lily nodded. She yawned and made herself more comfortable on my lap. I moved us onto the leaf bed.

 _"Once upon a time..."_ Brian began.

"Um, no. I'm reading it!" Freddie interrupted.

"I thought you said I was going to read it." Deaky pouted.

"You're being more childish than the actual child here." I laughed. "Why don't you idiots just take turns? Everyone read a page and you alternate."

"Can I start?" Freddie asked eagerly.

"Fine." Brian allowed and Deaky just shrugged in acceptance.

***

I tucked Lily into the leaf bed making sure she was all snuggly cocooned beneath several fluffy blankets. Freddie finished brushing her hair. "There. Now you won't wake up with any tangled knots." He kissed the top of her head. "Goodnight, love."

"Dream about dancing and having a ball." Deaky said. "We'll see you in the morning, sweetheart. You'll have a blast at the sunshine ceremony."

"Night, night." Lily cooed. "I had a lot of fun with you tonight. Thank you."

"Our pleasure, darling." Freddie replied. He picked up the brush on the way out, eyeing Brian. "I want to brush your hair next." He murmured, taking Deaky by the hand.

"Today was the best day ever!" Lily yawned. "I wish every day could be just like today!"

Again Brian touched his neck, his fingers grasping at where the pendulum used to lie. Would it really be the worst thing if Lily made that wish? She seemed so happy.

"Good." Brian said. "We had a bit of a snafu with the shooting star, so you might be here just a little while longer. But we'll get you home soon. Don't you worry."

"I don't wanna go home." She said. "I like Rhye. Can't I stay here and live with you?"

"Go to sleep.We can talk about this in the morning." Brian said gently.

"Okay. But I really really wanna stay." She shut her eyes. "Night, night."

Brian patted her head. "Sleep well, Lily." He waited for me by the door. "Let's go to bed, Rog."

I dismissed him making a gesture for him to go to our room without me. I stayed with Lily. "If you need anything at all, Brian and I are in the room right next door. Sweet dreams, my little nugget" I kissed her cheek and turned off the light.

As I left Lily called for me. "Roger, wait!" I immediately paused. "Can you turn the light back on please? I'm afraid of the dark."

Note to self: Buy a nightlight for Lily. Deaky could probably make one for me. I turned the light back on. "Goodnight, Lily."

She smiled and rested her head back on her pillow. "Night, night, Roger."

Convincing myself she'd be alright sleeping on her own, I joined Brian in our bedroom.

"She does seem happy here, but it's just not right to keep her." Brian said bluntly. "Lily is not ours, Roggie. She has a human family."

"No, they aren't her blood relatives. Her real family is dead. The people she's living with are monsters. Everything that comes to mind when you think of humans applies to them especially the brother. He wants to kill Lily. I can't let her go back there. They hate her, Brian, and she did nothing to them."

"But we have no right to steal this girl from her life. I'm sure the humans have noticed by now that she's missing. What if it's traced back to us? If they discover our colony and see that we've kidnapped and shrunken one of their own, they won't stop until every fairy in Rhye is slaughtered. That's how humans take revenge. They wage wars against each other. Paul is a no good fruit fly, but he had a point about humans finding us. It won't end well."

I nearly punched the bark wall when Brian brought up the Prince of Darkness who was up to no good. "I know you're paranoid about everything human related, but we would have known if humans followed us back here. Their footsteps are like thunder and they're so tall they cast a shadow over us blocking the sun."

"Before my father died, he admitted his greatest fear wasn't getting captured by a human but accidentally leading a human back to Rhye. He spent his final days worrying that a human might have followed him here." Brian explained. "I know I'm being ridiculous. I just can't stop thinking about what happened to him. Lily is the sweetest little thing, but she comes from that world. It's easier to escape my prejudice now that she's the size of a sapling and poses no threat, but still. When Lily tells us stories of how the humans mistreated her I can't help but wonder if that kind of neglect and outright abuse is acceptable is acceptable among humans. With the disregard they have for other species and the environment it seems that humans are all cold and cruel to each other."

"You said it yourself Lily was being neglected and abused. Why would we ever allow her back there?" I cried.

"Because Lily is human and that's what they consider normal. It sounds fucked up I know, but that's human nature. They destroy and kill. That murderous spirit is woven into Lily as well. We can shrink her down but that won't change what she's meant to do, what all humans seem to do. They—"

"—That's enough!" I shouted. "Human or not I love the girl sleeping in the room next door. I'd do anything to keep her safe. She is not the monster you think she is. Putting her back into that environment could taint her and make her succumb to a bitterness and aggression, but left alone Lily is as kindhearted as any fairy. I want to preserve her good heart. Besides, we can't send her back even if we wanted to because you're missing the pendulum."

"Miami said the water fairies will be draining the lagoon tomorrow morning for a cleansing procedure. If they find my pendulum it will be returned."Brian informed me.

He gave me a kiss that seemed out of nowhere. "What was that for?" I asked.

"I never thanked you for rescuing us from that frog. It was reckless but your quick thinking saved the day."

"Does this mean I'm forgiven for losing the pendulum?" I perked up.

"There's no point in holding a grudge against someone I love so much." Brian said. "All in all, it was far from the perfect date, but somehow I enjoyed it and spending the night with you was perfect albeit in its own special way."

"I love you." I responded shifting closer to him so I could use his chest as a pillow.

"Love you too, baby." Brian smiled and turned off the light.

I was too comfortable in my position to move even though I was in the mood to make love with all this romantic talk going round. I couldn't fight how tired I was though and found my eyes closing.

"Roger?" Brian whispered running his hand up and down my back soothingly.

"Hmm?"

"Would you ever want a sapling of our own some day? You're so good with Lily and she absolutely adores you."

"She loves you too, Bri. You just need to open your heart to her." I hummed sleepily.

"I know. I'm trying not to get too attached. It'll just be too heartbreaking. We need to do what's best for her. This isn't her home."

"It can be. We both want kids and Lily is looking to be loved and cared for. Why can't we make this work? It just makes sense!" I urged.

Just then a small noise made us both look up. Lily came rushing into the room."Roger! Roger!" She cried.

"What's the matter?" I sat up now fully alert.

"I had a nightmare. I want my teddy."

"Ohh you poor thing." I hadn't even considered that she would miss her toy. What could I do to make it better?

"Come here." I was surprised when Brian responded by picking Lily up and placing her in between us. "You can sleep right here with us. Will that help?"

"Yeah. Thank you, Brian."

"Roger was just telling me about how Deaky taught you some chords on the guitar." That wasn't at all what were talking about but I nodded anyway. "Maybe in morning you can show off what you've learned to Brian."

Lily shook her head. "Deaky said that you're the best guitar player in all of Rhye and you always have really, really long solos. I just know the chords that Deaky taught me."

"Well of course that's all you know because that's all you've been taught." Brian said. "No one expects you to become an expert after just one lesson, but with a lot of practice and hard work you can become a great guitarist some day."

In the darkness of the bedroom, I could still make out Brian's smile. It was too late for him not to grow attached. Heaven help him, he loved the mini human just as much as I did. He was just too stubborn to accept it.

"Night night, Brian." Lily yawned. "Night, night Dad—Roger."

Shit! It was too late for me for sure. The room was silent after Lily's slip up. I assumed she had fallen asleep and Brian was too stunned to say anything.

"I wish we could adopt her." Brian's words broke the stillness. "Goodness, what's wrong with me? I want a human child as my own daughter."

"Nothing is wrong with you." I assured him. "Lily is perfect and I want her to be ours too."

"We can talk to her about the possibility tomorrow. There are still so many factors to consider." Brian said tentatively. "Adoption is serious and permanent. We're talking about becoming parents. That's a life long commitment."

"But it'll be worth it." Lily made a cooing sound in her sleep as she sucked her thumb. "So worth it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Brian's coming around! But how long can this last until other fairies realize Lily's a human?....


	10. Dynamite with a Laser Beam

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: Write as much as possible before school starts!  
> Also me: Ugh! I have to write another 10 page paper for one of my classes this semester.
> 
> With this story I'm kinda making it up as I go along and I'm more focused on the Blind AU at the moment but I'm trying to update as frequently as possible in this upcoming week because school will begin again after that. Anyway I decided to dedicate this chapter to what's going on in the human world. I think it'll be a shorter chapter, but we'll see where it goes...

Lily had been missing for about two days now. Molly assumed her step daughter had run away. She felt awful like she had defied her promise to her deceased husband. She was supposed to take care of Lily. On the other hand, Molly hated to admit it but the house was so much more peaceful without that little brat moping around and complaining all day long.

Noah was being such a precious angel. Molly knew he was scared about Lily's whereabouts, but he didn't show it. He put on a brave face, smiling and laughing like nothing was wrong. What a good boy! She decided to reward her son with a brand new action figure. This must not be easy on him.

The packaging on the box promised that the toy was "Guaranteed to Blow Your Mind!" So it ought to be worth the money. "Noah, honey, I have a surprise for you!" Molly called. "I know things have been very tough and we're all so worried about Lily. You're being very mature about this whole thing and I would like to reward you."

Noah yanked the package out of his mother's hands and violently ripped it open. "Oh wow! Captain Dynamite! He even comes with a laser beam!" Noah clicked the flashing red light over and over again. "So cool!"

Molly laughed as Noah played with his new toy. She hardly noticed that he had entered Lily's room because the phone rang. While the mother answered it, Noah destroyed all of Lily's toys and pointed the laser beam on one of his sister's photographs. "I hope you stay lost forever!" He laughed.

Molly closed the door so she could hear the phone better. The police had been calling her nonstop. Of course she appreciated their services, but she fretted when they accused her of being responsible for Lily's disappearance. That was simply outrageous! The girl had just run away and soon she'd learn her lesson and return home safe and sound.

"Ma'am. I'm gonna need you to come down to the school house. We found something very interesting on the school's security tape."

"I'm sorry officer, I can't just leave Noah. I'll need to call the babysitter. Or perhaps I'll bring him with me. Yes. I'll do that. We can be there in half an hour." Molly hung up the phone and went to fetch her son.

She found Noah on the floor staring curiously at one of Lily's drawings. "What a dummy. Roger is a boys name. Why would she name her stupid imaginary fairy princess friend Roger?"

Roger? Molly had heard Lily mention that name the night before she ran away. Something about not hurting him. Hmm...

"Hey I was looking at that!" Noah protested as Molly took the drawing to examine it for herself. For once Lily drew herself with a smiling face. The therapists and teachers had warned Molly that Lily's lack of smiley faces in her drawings signified trauma. This picture proved them wrong. In the drawing, Lily was holding a tiny blonde fairy in her hand. The fairy was drawn with blue dots representing blue eyes, a pink crayon smile, and a crown on its head. A caption below read: _Lily &_ _Roger_ in bubble letter handwriting with a dotted heart above the i.

"Seems innocent enough." She murmured giving the paper back to Noah. "Come on, honey we have to go to the school."

"What? No! Mom it's a Saturday. No! No! NOOOO!" Noah shouted. Molly resorted to bribing him with a juice box he could sip in the car.

***

"This sucks! I hate school! It's a Saturday. I shouldn't be here." Noah grumbledas he sat outside of the principal's office waiting for his mother. "This is all Lily's fault. I hope she's dead. All dead and gone."

Behind the closed door, Molly was meeting with two police officers and the principal. "What's this all about? Have you found Lily or not?"

"I know things have been difficult for you because of your husband's passing. But it also must be tough on Lily. She lost her father. And to top it all off, she's being bullied by some of her classmates. Has she come to you with any of these concerns?" The principal questioned. 

"No!" Molly gasped. "This is the first I'm hearing of this."

"Well, from the footage we saw on the security camera of the day Lily went missing, we could see a group of girls pushing Lily in the sand box and dumping all of her belongings out of her backpack. Rest assured, I've notified these girls parents. For the next month they will be excluded from all after school activities including cheerleading practice, and they are going to write apology letters." He explained. 

"Apology letters don't seem worthwhile when Lily's not here to receive them. I think the punishment seems a bit harsh. I'm sure the girls were just playing around. You know how kids are." Molly chuckled. "Is this why you called me in?" She glanced at the door impatiently. "I promised Noah we'd go out for lunch after this. I don't want it to get too late."

"Ma'am, we believe your daughter has been kidnapped." The officer blurted. 

"Kidnapped? Goodness! Who would ever want to kidnap Lily? No, I think there's a mistake. She must have just run away. I'm sure she'll turn up eventually." Molly downplayed. If these officers accused her of taking part in her own daughter's kidnapping she'd call her lawyer ASAP. 

"Just watch the security footage, ma'am. It's something you'll have to see to believe." The officer's partner pulled up the video on an iPad. 

At first it showed the scene the principal had relayed: the girls harassing Lily, pushing her down into the sandbox and dumping all of her books out her backpack. Then something very strange happened. A swirl of sparkling light surrounded Lily and she suddenly vanished in the blink of an eye. 

"W-What? What is that? Where's Lily? What happened to her?" Molly cried in disbelief. 

"It's a kind of a magic we believe although we can't be too sure." The officer explained. "Watch the video again, more carefully. Focus on those fireflies." 

"What fireflies?" Molly rewatched the footage. Sure enough before the bizarre sparkling dust encircled Lily, two fuzzy fireflies became visible. They were difficult to make out, so the principal zoomed in on them. Once they were magnified, Molly screamed in horror. They weren't fireflies at all, they were little tiny people with wings--a taller man with wild poodle hair and a beautiful blonde girl wearing a ring on her head like a crown. The latter looked just like the mysterious Roger Lily had drawn in her picture right down to the blue eyes and pretty pink lips. The supposed "pixie dust" jutted outward from the necklace of the curly haired creature. Lily hadn't disappeared, she was shrunken down to their size. 

"Ohmygod!" Molly shouted loud enough to capture Noah's attention. He burst into the room, shooting Captain Dynamite's lasers. "I'll save you Mom!" He declared. "Hey, is that Lily? What's she doing in an iPad?" 

"T-Those _bugs_ kidnapped my daughter!" Molly screamed. She glared at the officers. "Why are you two just standing around? Grab some raid and kill them!" 

"Clearly they aren't bugs." The principal said. "I was talking to our 4th grade science teacher and she thinks they might be fairies."

"Fairies? Oh please. What does the science teacher know anyway? She's scaring our kids by telling them that global warming is going to kill us all, but guess what, we got snowed in last winter, so the joke's on her. Now we've got to capture these little criminals and bring them to justice! They can't go around shrinking and kidnapping our children. Next they might come after my poor Noah!" 

"Roger is a dude after all." Noah laughed watching the video of the fairies taking Lily away. "He should go on RuPaul's Drag Race. He'd totally win 'cause he looks like a girl without even trying." 

"We've never seen anything like this before. There's really no protocol." The officer said. "These fairies are difficult to track because they're so small, but we're trying to do everything we can to get your girl back, ma'am." 

"Maybe she should just stay with the fairies." Noah said with a shrug as he went back to playing with his toy. 

"Honey, why would you say a thing like that?" Molly cried. 

"'Cause she's annoying and never happy. Maybe she'll be happier with them. She's obsessed with those stupid little things. If she wants to become a bug and get stepped on, we should let her. It's what she wants." 

Molly thought back to the drawing of Lily and Roger. She drew herself with a smiling face. In all of her other pictures she had a frowning face. That couldn't be a coincidence. "Maybe they're little angels Henry sent down from heavenyto take care of her. Oh, Noah, you're so smart!" 

"Actually we're concerned about his grades and his behavior." The principal said. "But I think this issue seems more pressing. We all want to find Lily, and if there's nothing we can do to um fix this... _small problem_ we will make arrangements so that she can still get a normal education. Although I would suggest homeschool if that's the case."

"I'm sure the angels will unshrink her if we ask them politely." Molly said. "We just need to find them and see if they're taking good care of Lily." It might be better off if she stayed with these fairies permanently. Lily likely was going to end up in a foster home anyway. 

"You know now that she's small we can have a lot more fun together." Noah said with a sadistic smile his mother couldn't pick up on. He looked down the action figure in his hands. "This might be bigger than her now...Oh man! I can do some much to her and her stupid fairy friends!" 

"Play nice, dear." Molly responded obliviously. 

"Currently, we're going off of surveillance cameras and zooming in on all of the footage we can find. Our leads aren't very promising." The officer said. 

"Don't worry too much about it. I'm sure you'll find them." Molly said. "Come on, Noah. Let's go out for lunch! You can order whatever you want." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like I said shorter chapter, but I thought I should include it. I think the worst parent of the year award might go to Molly, but I guess she's trying? Nah, JK, she's horrible. Why am i so good at writing such mean and neglectful characters? Next chapter we'll see what Lily and the boys are up to in Rhye...


	11. It's the Sad Eyed Goodbye

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Paul figures out Lily's secret.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My brain: Beth, guess what? I have another soulmate AU idea.
> 
> Me: Um no. I've got this story, Misfits and the Blind AU, and aren't we forgetting something?...Oh yeah. SCHOOOL! We're about 100 pages behind on our reading!
> 
> Also Me: I should update My Fairy King in addition to Misfits.

_Freddie's POV_

Like every night, I sang Deaky to sleep. "You have such a beautiful voice, Freddie." He yawned. "I can never get enough of it...or you." 

"Shush, and close your pretty eyes, darling." I whispered putting my lips to his head. I continued to hum softly. "Are you asleep yet, dear?"

"Mhhmm."

"No, you're not." I sighed. 

Deaky's eyes fluttered back open. "Sorry, Freddie. I just can't stop thinking about Lily. She's such a little sweetheart. I just adore her."

"I know." I smiled. "I love her too. I wish she could stay here in Rhye with us, but that's not up to us. Brian will probably send her back." 

"That would break Roger's heart. He's too attached at this point." John said. "We can't send her back to Nevermore."

"I'm afraid we're all too attached at this point, and that's the problem. If only she were a real sapling and not a human." It wasn't fair. Lily deserved to be here where she was treated with dignity and love. 

A knock on our door interrupted my wandering mind trailing down a trail of distraught. Who could be visiting us at this late hour? "Stay here." I whispered to Deaky. I fetched the lantern by our leaf bedside and went to answer the door carved within the tree. 

"Can I help you, darl--Oh son of a bitch! You're not a darling!" I was about to slam the door in Paul Prenter's stupid face, but he weaseled his way inside. "Freddiekins!" He cooed, and I dodged his kiss well aware that Deaky was watching our every move. 

"Don't call me Freddiekins. What are you doing here?" 

"Did I interrupt something?" Paul eyed my soulmate in the bed. "Get your evil beady eyes away from my love!" I snapped. "What do you want?" 

"This was recovered in the lagoon. I believe it belongs to your friend Brian." He held up Brian's pendulum. 

"You thief!" I shouted snatching back the crescent necklace. "Brian needs this. You're not a space fairy. Why would you take it?" 

"If he needs it, why would he drop it in the lagoon?" Paul mused. "Upon recovering it for him, I discovered something very interesting." He waved his fingers atop the pendulum. "Magic I call upon thee, reveal the last wish from your stardust set free." The Prince of Darkness chanted. 

A hologram of Lily appeared. She was crying in the desert. _'"Oh Roger, I wish I was small enough to run away to Rhye with you and your friends!"'_

"It seems like you four have gotten yourself into quite a scuffle." Paul smirked as the scene of Lily shrinking played out before our eyes. "Befriending humans, bringing them to Rhye. That could get you all exiled to Nevermore." 

"Lily isn't a threat." Deaky spoke up. "Fear fosters hate. She's just a little girl mixed up in all this. Don't hurt her." 

"Oh no, I would never!" Paul said deceitfully. "You don't want to cross a human. They'll swat you and kill you. Of course, now that the girl is our size, it might be a good idea to teach her a lesson about what her own kind does to us. That may be a suitable punishment. Have her squashed like a bug or poisoned perhaps."

"That's against fairy nature. We don't bring harm to other creatures." I cried. 

"Well they bring harm to us. So that's justice, Freddie. You four get banished for exposing us to a human, and that human gets what she deserves." 

"I'm telling Miami." I declared. " _You'll_ be the one exiled." 

"You'll be admitting to breaking the law. You'll end up in Nevermore no matter what you do." Paul clucked. "Unless of course..." He caught my glare and smirked maliciously. "I can make this all go away. Brian will have his pendulum returned. The girl will stay here with her fake fairy wings and no one will know the truth. Everything will return to the way it should be."

"And what's the catch?" I knew the Prince of Darkness had something up his sleeve. I would have to make a deal with the devil to get us out of this. I was sure of it.

"Marry me." 

Fuck! No. I wouldn't do it. Not even to save us from Nevermore. Deaky whimpered and grabbed my hand possessively. I would never betray my soulmate like that. Goodbye Rhye. "No way! You can go fuck yourself, my darling. I'm telling Miami the truth even if it gets us into trouble. Anything is better than marry you. You are just as bad as the humans, death on two legs I tell you!"

"But Freddie, the truth won't set us free in this case. It will send us to the path of Nevermore." Deaky whispered. 

"Listen to him, Freddie. You don't want to disappoint your little boyfriend. I'm sure he knows what's best for you, and that's me of course."

"I said fuck off!" I cried. "C'mon Deaky, let's get away from this fruit fly." I followed John's lead, giving Paul a death stare, and then guided my love outside into the hallway. 

"Where are we going?" Deaky asked as we meandered through the bark. 

"We have to warn Brian and Roger." I said. "I really do think the only solution is to tell Miami the truth and accept the consequences." 

_Brian's POV_

"AY-OH!"

My eyes shot open from a deep sleep. "Ay-Oh!" I automatically yawned back. Damn Freddie and his magic voice. "W-What time is it?"

"Too early. You have no bloody right to wake us up." Roger groaned. "This had better be an emergency."

"Hi Freddie, hi Deaky!" Lily chirped. 

I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and spotted Freddie and Deaky in the threshold. Both were looking pale and worrisome. Freddie was grasping something in his hand. I gasped. "My pendulum! Fred, how did you find this?" I retrieved it from him and put it back around my neck where it belonged. 

"I didn't. Paul did. He knows about Lily and threatened to expose us all unless I marry him." Freddie explained. "We need to go to Miami and tell him the truth." 

"If the Fairy King knows I'm human will he make me go back?" Lily asked. "I don't want to go back." 

"We can't tell him, Bri. We can't. You have to do something. I'm not losing my Lily." Roger said. 

I couldn't remove my emotions from this situation, but I tried. "How long can we keep up this lie? Prenter knows the truth. I don't think we have a choice. Besides, as Lily's parents we need to set a good example. Instilling a sense of honesty in her will--"

"--Parents?" Lily looked up at me tearfully with those big brown eyes. I really messed up. This had gone too far. Now that our hearts were involved things were even more difficult. "I'm sorry, honey. We're at the mercy of the fairy king now. The important thing is telling the truth." 

"Roger, I don't want to go! You can't let the king send me back. Please, please! I want to stay here!" Lily sobbed clinging to Roger. He looked at me totally broken. "I love you, Lily." Roger whispered. Well that made two of us. Lily had us wrapped around her little finger, and we were going to have to say goodbye for the betterment of us all. 

***

By the time we arrived at the king's quarters, the Prince of Darkness and the Sunshine Princess were already there deep in discussion. All of us bowed except for Lily and Roger. "Should I bow?" Lily whispered. "Curtsey, darling." Freddie corrected. 

"Roggie, is it true?" Clare was the first to react to our entrance. "Is Lily human?" 

Roger looked down at Lily then at his sister. He bit down on his lip hesitantly. "It's true." I spoke for him. "But Lily won't hurt any of us. We're blowing all of this out of proportion." 

"I agree." Miami said. "Paul, all this talk of banishment is far fetched. The best thing to do is have the wish reversed and wipe the girl's memory. No harm done." 

"NO!" Lily screamed. 

"The cries of a monster." Paul scoffed. 

"Takes one to know one." Freddie said under his breath. 

"Enough!" Miami shouted. "I have made my decision. The next space fairy to catch a shooting star will grant Lily her wish to return to a normal human size. Then we shall have a magic fairy cast a charm so she won't remember any of this. No more talk of monsters and no one is getting sent to Nevermore apart from the human who belongs there."

"She doesn't belong there!" Roger cried. "Please, Lily is so much like a fairy. If you'd just give her a chance you'd see. She's a sapling. I'll take care of her. Let her stay. Please. I'm begging you." 

"Lily has a home of her own." Miami said. 

"My family doesn't want me back. I promise I'll be good. I'll brush my teeth and I won't talk back and I'll be good. I don't wanna go." Lily wailed. 

"Shut it! Dare you respect the fairy king!" Paul growled. "You three ought to be ashamed of yourself harboring a disgusting human. And Freddie, you've made a grave mistake for ever defying me."

"Paul, you're not being very helpful. I suggest you leave." Miami dismissed him. With a disgruntled groan he flew out of the room grumbling under his breath something about him being king one day. God help us when that day comes. 

"D-Do I really have to go?" Lily sniffed. 

"It's what is best. I'm sorry. You are not a fairy. You are merely the size of one." Miami said. "This is in everyone's best interest. I must make tough decisions as king. This is one of them." 

"We tried." John sighed and extinguished her wings. "I'm going to miss you, Lily." 

"You're making a mistake!" Roger cried. 

"Roger, you're not king." Miami said firmly. "I stand by my choice. Say your goodbyes."

"I'm sorry, Nugget, I'm so so sorry." Roger hugged the girl as she sobbed. This was shattering my fragile heart. I wasn't sure if I could recover. 

It was too much for me to bare, so I fled instead of saying goodbye. It was still night. If I was lucky I could catch a shooting star and send Lily home. The best way to remove a bandaid is to do is quickly in one rip that way it hurts the least. So I rushed outside staring up at the night sky. As luck would have it, a shooting star passed over head. Lily would be home and this would all be over by dawn. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is Lily going home to Noah and company? All I can say is the end is near! And by that I mean the end of this story. Hint: I believe in happily ever afters!


	12. Spread Your Wings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lily makes a wish.

  
Brian's POV

I tried to stay composed. Roger was a mess and I knew he was only put on a brave face for Lily's sake otherwise he'd be breaking down. Somehow though Lily didn't seem as upset as she was earlier. 

"I'm ready to go." She stated. 

"Did you say goodbye to everyone?" I confirmed. 

Lily nodded. "I said goodbye to everyone. Even Freddie's cats. I'm going to miss Rhye and everyone here." 

"And we'll miss you. We'll miss you so much." I took her hand. "I wish there was another way. I really do." We made our way through the meadow. I convinced myself not to turn back. This had to be done. I stopped when we were far enough from the village. "Okay, now this is very important. Listen to me very carefully, Lily." I removed the pendulum from around my neck and handed it to her. "You're going to travel to the farthest blade of grass up there. I want you to be far enough so you don't crush anyone when you're back to human. I know you would never hurt us on purpose, but it's best not to take any chances."

"And once I'm there I make the wish?" She asked. 

"You have to say this verbatim. I wish to return to a normal sized human as I was before my previous wish. Can you remember all that? That's essential." Lily nodded. "A magic fairy will retrieve my pendulum and erase your memory once your wish is granted. Understand?"

"Yes." Lily gave me a hug and I nearly melted. "Thank you, Pa--Brian. I love you."

"I love you too." Yeah, I loved the little human. I wanted to raise her with Roger. In a perfect world, she'd be my daughter, but that was not meant to be.

"Goodbye, Lily." I waited until she was far enough away before I finally allowed myself to cry. Life wasn't fair sometimes. 

Up ahead I saw the sparkle of the star dust taking its effect. Lily was as good as gone. I could only imagine how devastated Roger was. Now I had to be there for him. I wiped my tears and turned to head back to the tree.

"Brian wait!"

I spun around in shock. Lily was still here! Only she was airborne. My jaw dropped when I saw her flapping functional black wings. "Lily, you're flying!" I did a double take as she landed gracefully.

"I'm a fairy!" She giggled. "A real fairy! Look at my wings. Aren't they pretty? They're sparkly." She spread her little wings in demonstration.

"Y-You're a night fairy, like me. Roger will be disappointed you're not a day fairy." I blinked one last time. This was real. "Lily, what did you do?"

"I wished to be a fairy. Can I stay in Rhye now? Pretty please!"

Lily was a fairy. We could no longer turn her away. I practically leaped for joy. With an infectious fit of laughter and happy tears I picked up the little angel, spinning her in the air. "You can do more than just stay in Rhye, love. You can live with me and Roger." I put her back down only to have her fly back up and latch herself onto my shoulders for another embrace. "Really? Can I stay with you forever?"

"Yes, you can! You can stay with us forever. You don't have to worry. Roger and I will care for you and we'll always love you." I vowed. "We'll keep you safe and happy if you'll let us." This was a lot for a kid to accept but I knew it was what Lily wanted and was far better for her than the abusive alternative. "I know this might be a little too soon, but Rog and I were talking last night. We'd like nothing more than to have you join our family. We want to adopt you and have you as our daughter."

"Do you mean it, Bri?" Lily squealed.

"Yes. I mean every word. We love you, sweetheart."

"I love you too, Papa." She cooed. I never realized I could feel so complete. I thought just Roger was enough, but as special as my soulmate was I couldn't deny that someone else now held a spot in my heart. My Lily, the perfect daughter. I would be the best father I could for my new sapling because she deserved no less. "Can we go see Daddy now? I don't want him to be sad and think that I left forever. He'll be so happy that I'm a fairy now and he gets to adopt me."

"Yes of course we can." I said. "In fact, I'll race you back to the tree. Have you ever participated in a flight race before?" Lily shook her head. "Well then today is your lucky day! You are going to lose your first ever fairy flight race." I was teasing of course I'd let Lily win. 

"Oh no way! No time for losers!" She declared with a feisty giggle and flew away in the direction of the tree. I followed close behind purposefully lagging.

When Lily arrived to the tree first as planned I applauded. "You were speeding! I couldn't keep up with you, little one. Your Dad is going to have so much fun chasing you all around."

"We're going to have fun too, Papa." She said.

"I'm already having fun, aren't you?"

"Oh yes! I'm having a ball. Let's go see Dad now. I can't wait to surprise him."

Roger's POV

I didn't know what to do. Lily was gone. I'd never see her again. I felt so empty inside like all the life had been sucked out of me.

"Cheer up, Roger." That fucking fruit fly had the nerve to plop down next to me on the mushroom. "She could have stomped you to death. In fact I'm sure she's killing Brian right now. He's on a suicide mission escorting her to that meadow to turn back into a giant."

"Lily would never hurt any of us." I sniffled. "She has such a big heart."

"You think she's all cutsie now but once she's big again she'll—"

"—Save it! I've had enough of your bullshit. Not all humans are bad, and you know something, Paul, not all fairies are good either." I concluded.

"Now that's just crazy talk." He cried. "Have you ever met a bad fairy?" 

"Yeah I'm looking at one right now."

It took Paul a moment to realize I was referring to him but then his beady eyes turned menacing. "Careful I will be your king one day!"

"That day is not today." I replied.

Out in the horizon I spotted a sapling flying toward me. Lily would have made such a good fairy. As this night fairy got closer I recognized her. It was Lily! Only she was a night fairy soaring through the air like a natural.

"Daddy!" My girl collided with me giving me a big hug. "I get to stay in Rhye with you forever. I'm a fairy now. Papa says you want to adopt me. Is that true?"

"Papa?" I questioned. Brian caught up with Lily, grinning widely. "She's ours, Roger! Lily wished to be a fairy."

I nearly screamed. This was everything I ever wanted. I help my adventure in my embrace. "Lily!" I held her tighter. "You're a fairy and you're our daughter." I beamed. "Welcome to our family, Nugget!"

"I love you, Dad." She exclaimed.

"Ah baby. You're going to have such a good life here with us in Rhye. Br—I mean your father and I love you so much. We'll help you adjust to all of this. Looks like you don't need any flying lessons. You were zooming like an expert without any guidance."

"Flying is fun!" She wiggled out of my embrace and flew into Brian's arms. I laughed to myself as Lily took turns flying back and forth between the two of us like a beach ball. I could rest assured there'd be no more dull days with Lily around. Now I truly did have everything I want because she'd keep me on my toes and invoke my appetite for adventure. I was finally content.

"I'm not buying it!" Paul snarled and flew off.

"He's probably up to no good." Brian remarked his smile fading.

"He shouldn't spoil our fun." I said. "Lily, let's pay a visit to your uncles."

***

We found Freddie and Deaky in their room holding each other as they wept. How bittersweet!

"No! Don't cry! Look I'm a fairy!" Lily climbed up onto their leaf bed and bounced eagerly.

"Lily?" Freddie gasped. "Oh darling, I told you you'd be such a beautiful little night fairy. Look at those lovely wings of yours. How did this happen?"

"I wished to be a fairy and now Daddy and Papa are adopting me so that makes you two my uncles." She explained.

"No. Uncle is not good enough. I'm your godfather, darling, and so is Deaky. We're your honorary parents." Freddie declared.

"I have no problem with that." Brian said.

"But she's our daughter." I clarified. 

"I'm so happy for you, Lily!" Deaky proclaimed. "Can I touch your wings? I promise I'll be gentle." With permission he gingerly ran his fingers across Lily's new wings. "They're real. You really are a fairy!"

"See! I told you. I'm a real fairy!" Lily jumped up off the leaf bed and flew around the room. So much energy I loved it!

There was a knock on the door. I immediately stiffened when Freddie opened it revealing Miami. He walked in followed by my sister and of course the execrable Prince of Darkness. Lily quivered quickly diving behind Brian's legs for protection. She looked at me. "I'm a fairy now. Please, Dad. Don't let them take me away! Please, please, please."

"You were wrong, Paul, it looks to me like the girl is indeed a real fairy." Miami noted.

"We should let her stay." Clare advised. "Look how much she wants to be with Roger and Brian. She should be their sapling."

"I see no reason to oppose now that Lily is a fairy. We cannot turn our backs on our own kind." Miami said.

Lily timidly stepped forward. "Thank you, Your Highness." She curtseyed the way Freddie had taught her. "Your Majesty, not Your Highness." I whispered. Miami didn't correct her or take offense. "Welcome to Rhye, my new fairy friend."

"But she's not a fairy. It's a trick I tell you!" Paul cried. 

"Give up already!" Freddie groaned.

"It's John. He's given her false wings that are nothing more than an illusion. He should be punished." The prince rambled.

"I saw her use those wings to fly with my own two eyes. A light trick cannot do that." Miami dismissed.

"Here I'll prove it." Paul marched toward Lily and slashed her wing with his nail making her scream in pain.

I saw nothing but red. I slammed Paul up against the bark of the tree. "You hurt her! How dare you!"

"I-I didn't mean to. I thought my hand would go right through her wing. It was supposed to be nothing but light."

"Paul, we never lay our hands on other fairies' wings, especially saplings. Harming another's wings is reason enough to banish you to Nevermore and I am going to do just that!" Miami exclaimed.

"What? You can't banish me. I'm a prince. In fact I'm next in line to rule." He shouted.

"No one is above the law. Clare Taylor the Sunshine Princess will take your place as next in line to inherit the throne. Paul Prenter, I hereby banish you to Nevermore!" Miami decreed.

Freddie applauded. I would have too if I wasn't tending to Lily and her hurt wing. I massaged it as Brian held her.

"But where will I go?" Paul cried.

"Nevermore obviously." Deaky replied coldly.

"It doesn't matter where you go so long as you leave Rhye and never come back!" Miami dictated.

"You can go live with Noah." Lily said.

"Lily Maylor when did you learn to be sassy?" I snickered.

"She's been hanging out with four aging queens it's no surprise we've corrupted her." Freddie remarked.

"And corrupted she stays with us." Brian said. 

"Forever and ever." I agreed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I need sleep! When I'm not behind in homework and working on like 3 other stories I'll write the epilogue for this. I don't have any sequel ideas sadly but that could change in the future. Stay tuned!


End file.
